Short Interest in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Rises By 12.9%

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) saw a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 473,800 shares, an increase of 12.9% from the October 15th total of 419,500 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 133,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO stock opened at $2,658.23 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $2,557.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,524.57. AutoZone has a fifty-two week low of $2,277.88 and a fifty-two week high of $2,750.00. The firm has a market cap of $46.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.65.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 19th. The company reported $46.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $44.51 by $1.95. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.48% and a negative return on equity of 60.66%. The firm had revenue of $5.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $40.51 earnings per share. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that AutoZone will post 147.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, SVP Preston Frazer sold 6,754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,476.97, for a total transaction of $16,729,455.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,171.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other AutoZone news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 120 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,548.03, for a total transaction of $305,763.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 156 shares in the company, valued at $397,492.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Preston Frazer sold 6,754 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,476.97, for a total transaction of $16,729,455.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,171.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,069 shares of company stock valued at $30,651,562. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Ellevest Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 7.4% during the first quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 58 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.2% in the first quarter. Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $836,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.9% in the first quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 8.2% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 53 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. 90.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AZO shares. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,425.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 20th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,006.00 to $2,863.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $2,750.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $2,975.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,721.00 to $2,742.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,793.95.

About AutoZone

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.