Short Interest in O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) Declines By 19.3%

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) saw a large decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 935,900 shares, a decline of 19.3% from the October 15th total of 1,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 324,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

O’Reilly Automotive Stock Performance

ORLY stock traded down $11.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $1,213.37. The company had a trading volume of 437,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 375,309. The company has a market cap of $70.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.92. O’Reilly Automotive has a twelve month low of $914.50 and a twelve month high of $1,255.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,170.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,094.28.

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $11.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.53 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.42 billion. O’Reilly Automotive had a negative return on equity of 155.25% and a net margin of 14.52%. The business’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $10.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that O’Reilly Automotive will post 40.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded O’Reilly Automotive to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,115.00 to $1,286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,250.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,200.00 price target on shares of O’Reilly Automotive in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,337.00 price objective on shares of O’Reilly Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,242.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Christopher Andrew Mancini sold 1,557 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.00, for a total transaction of $1,751,625.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawrence P. Oreilly sold 13,765 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,119.52, for a total value of $15,410,192.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 141,589 shares in the company, valued at $158,511,717.28. This represents a 8.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,322 shares of company stock valued at $18,280,698. Corporate insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On O’Reilly Automotive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,384 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,562,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its holdings in O’Reilly Automotive by 9.7% in the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 462 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive in the first quarter worth about $254,000. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,062,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 612 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. 85.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.