AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Short Interest Up 9.0% in December

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 363,400 shares, a growth of 9.0% from the December 15th total of 333,300 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 129,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AZO. Roth Capital upgraded AutoZone to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price target for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,501.00 to $3,753.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $3,429.84.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoZone

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 159 shares of the company's stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.1% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 101 shares of the company's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the company's stock worth $2,237,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 95 shares of the company's stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 84 shares of the company's stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO stock traded up $27.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3,221.06. The stock had a trading volume of 144,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,718. AutoZone has a 52-week low of $2,658.18 and a 52-week high of $3,416.71. The stock has a market cap of $54.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,222.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,134.62.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $32.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone will post 153.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.