DA Davidson Has Lowered Expectations for AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Stock Price

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its price target reduced by analysts at DA Davidson from $4,500.00 to $4,100.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. DA Davidson’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 10.46% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,499.00 to $4,076.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on AutoZone from $4,234.00 to $4,274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research raised AutoZone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,811.00 to $4,268.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,300.70.

AutoZone Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,711.77 on Tuesday. AutoZone has a 12-month low of $3,210.72 and a 12-month high of $4,388.11. The company has a market cap of $61.50 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,612.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,824.75.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $27.59 by $0.04. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 72.31% and a net margin of 12.47%.The firm had revenue of $4.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $28.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, Director Michael A. George acquired 145 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3,398.13 per share, with a total value of $492,728.85. Following the purchase, the director owned 566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,923,341.58. The trade was a 34.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 97 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,341.99, for a total transaction of $324,173.03. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,910,852.36. The trade was a 2.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 347 shares of company stock valued at $1,179,256 and have sold 9,447 shares valued at $34,179,923. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,797,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,711,912,000 after buying an additional 26,544 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 371,123.0% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 935,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,472,724,000 after acquiring an additional 935,230 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in AutoZone by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 714,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,650,870,000 after purchasing an additional 11,088 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in AutoZone by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 492,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,671,323,000 after purchasing an additional 74,555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 444,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,649,228,000 after purchasing an additional 8,187 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key AutoZone News

Here are the key news stories impacting AutoZone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AutoZone reiterated an aggressive growth plan, targeting 350–360 new stores in 2026, signaling continued capital deployment to expand retail footprint and commercial sales channels. AutoZone targets 350–360 new stores for 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Q2 EPS slightly beat expectations ($27.63 vs. $27.59 consensus), showing underlying cash generation and supporting many analysts’ buy/overweight stances. AutoZone Q2 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Several major brokers raised price targets (Goldman Sachs, Citi, Morgan Stanley, Barclays), keeping a generally constructive analyst tone that supports upside expectations. Analyst price target moves
• Neutral Sentiment: Top-line was mixed — net sales rose ~8% YoY but missed Street revenue estimates (~$4.27B vs. $4.31B expected), creating ambiguity about near-term demand trends. Sales below analyst estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Company discussed LIFO accounting impacts and accelerated SG&A investment in the quarter — these choices support growth but complicate near-term margin comparability. LIFO and SG&A note
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure was a clear negative theme — higher production costs and inflationary headwinds compressed gross margins and contributed to a stock sell-off immediately after results. Margins fall after inflationary headwinds
• Negative Sentiment: Winter storms and weaker domestic same-store sales (despite positive comps) were called out as near-term demand headwinds that contributed to the revenue miss. Winter storms hurt sales
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts trimmed targets (DA Davidson, Truist, BMO lowered theirs) or cautioned on margins, reflecting divergent views on how quickly profit metrics will recover. Analyst target cuts

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.