O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) Short Interest Update

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 802,700 shares, a decrease of 16.7% from the February 28th total of 963,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 348,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other O’Reilly Automotive news, Chairman Gregory L. Henslee sold 3,073 shares of O’Reilly Automotive stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,315.15, for a total value of $4,041,455.95. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 11,397 shares in the company, valued at $14,988,764.55. The trade was a 21.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brad W. Beckham sold 833 shares of O’Reilly Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,300.00, for a total transaction of $1,082,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 760 shares in the company, valued at $988,000. This trade represents a 52.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,894 shares of company stock valued at $10,409,618 over the last quarter. 1.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On O’Reilly Automotive

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ORLY. Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in O’Reilly Automotive by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 210 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the period. 111 Capital purchased a new position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive in the fourth quarter worth $1,092,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new stake in O’Reilly Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at $40,993,000. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in O’Reilly Automotive in the 4th quarter worth $189,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,399,000. 85.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

O’Reilly Automotive Stock Performance

NASDAQ ORLY traded up $28.65 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $1,445.66. The company had a trading volume of 159,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 363,524. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91. O’Reilly Automotive has a 52 week low of $947.49 and a 52 week high of $1,461.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,334.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,247.61.

O’Reilly Automotive’s stock is scheduled to split before the market opens on Tuesday, June 10th. The 15-1 split was announced on Thursday, March 13th. The newly issued shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, June 9th.

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $9.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.73 by $0.23. O’Reilly Automotive had a net margin of 14.28% and a negative return on equity of 166.88%. On average, research analysts forecast that O’Reilly Automotive will post 43.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ORLY. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,325.00 to $1,425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,450.00 to $1,525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,400.00 to $1,535.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,400.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,110.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, O’Reilly Automotive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,390.81.

O’Reilly Automotive Company Profile

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.