O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $1,300.00 to $1,200.00. The stock had previously closed at $1,092.70, but opened at $1,020.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. O’Reilly Automotive shares last traded at $1,022.58, with a volume of 213,046 shares.

ORLY has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com raised O’Reilly Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their target price on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,125.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,022.00 to $1,170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,240.00 to $1,220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on O’Reilly Automotive in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,225.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,108.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jeremy Adam Fletcher sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,028.00, for a total value of $5,140,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,400,380. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Jeremy Adam Fletcher sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,028.00, for a total value of $5,140,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,400,380. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jeffrey Alan Lauro sold 431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,038.63, for a total value of $447,649.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 963 shares in the company, valued at $1,000,200.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,968 shares of company stock worth $27,269,333 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On O’Reilly Automotive

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ORLY. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of O’Reilly Automotive in the fourth quarter worth about $671,384,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 89,319.3% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 653,655 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $621,025,000 after buying an additional 652,924 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 656.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 457,625 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $434,780,000 after buying an additional 397,108 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive during the third quarter valued at approximately $198,365,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 269.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 216,787 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $205,965,000 after purchasing an additional 158,075 shares during the period. 85.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

O’Reilly Automotive Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $1,097.21 and a 200-day moving average of $1,014.34. The stock has a market cap of $60.53 billion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.86.

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $9.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.18 by $0.02. O’Reilly Automotive had a negative return on equity of 139.01% and a net margin of 14.84%. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.28 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. will post 42.1 EPS for the current year.

About O’Reilly Automotive

O'Reilly Automotive, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer and supplier of automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment, and accessories in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. The company provides new and remanufactured automotive hard parts and maintenance items, such as alternators, batteries, brake system components, belts, chassis parts, driveline parts, engine parts, fuel pumps, hoses, starters, temperature control, water pumps, antifreeze, appearance products, engine additives, filters, fluids, lighting products, and oil and wiper blades; and accessories, including floor mats, seat covers, and truck accessories.