Raymond James Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Stock

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by Raymond James from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "strong-buy" rating on the stock. Raymond James' price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.93% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Mizuho upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus cut AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 target price on AutoZone in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,025.00 to $4,260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,042.62.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE:AZO traded up $90.49 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $3,786.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 83,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,337. AutoZone has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,916.81. The firm's 50 day moving average is $3,694.38 and its 200-day moving average is $3,457.18. The firm has a market cap of $63.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $37.07 by ($1.71). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $36.69 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total value of $17,568,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,940. This trade represents a 96.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares in the company, valued at $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 160.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 73 shares of the company's stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 0.8% in the first quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,373,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the company's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth $248,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,418 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,407,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Company Profile

AutoZone, Inc retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. The company provides various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products.

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