O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $1,352.82 and last traded at $1,348.29, with a volume of 102717 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,330.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ORLY shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,110.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley raised shares of O’Reilly Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $1,150.00 to $1,450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho raised their target price on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,305.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,450.00 to $1,525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,390.81.

O’Reilly Automotive Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,258.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,206.84. The company has a market cap of $78.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Insider Activity at O’Reilly Automotive

In other news, SVP Mark Joseph Merz sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,325.00, for a total transaction of $662,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $364,375. This represents a 64.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Andrea Weiss sold 248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,311.23, for a total value of $325,185.04. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $592,675.96. This represents a 35.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,894 shares of company stock valued at $10,409,618 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On O’Reilly Automotive

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in O’Reilly Automotive by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 18,580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $21,396,000 after buying an additional 3,193 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in O’Reilly Automotive by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,027 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $40,349,000 after purchasing an additional 6,418 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in O’Reilly Automotive by 4.7% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,597 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $22,568,000 after acquiring an additional 882 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust purchased a new position in O’Reilly Automotive in the fourth quarter worth $365,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in O’Reilly Automotive by 824.6% in the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 3,606 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,276,000 after acquiring an additional 3,216 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.