BMO Capital Markets Lowers AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Price Target to $4,300.00

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its price objective reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $4,400.00 to $4,300.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.78% from the stock’s previous close.

AZO has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $4,400.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird cut AutoZone from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $3,900.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,274.00 to $4,345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group set a $4,800.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,311.57.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,746.41 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $3,617.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,824.20. AutoZone has a 12-month low of $3,210.72 and a 12-month high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market cap of $62.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.41.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $27.59 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 72.31% and a net margin of 12.47%.AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $28.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AutoZone will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 5,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $21,867,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,719,900. This represents a 69.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 97 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,341.99, for a total value of $324,173.03. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 347 shares of company stock worth $1,179,256 and sold 9,447 shares worth $34,179,923. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 371,123.0% in the second 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 period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $939,205,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 277.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 102,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $440,037,000 after buying an additional 75,382 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in AutoZone by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 492,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,671,323,000 after acquiring an additional 74,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in AutoZone by 387.1% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 77,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,832,000 after acquiring an additional 61,821 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting AutoZone

Here are the key news stories impacting AutoZone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple major brokers raised price targets or reaffirmed buy/overweight ratings (Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Barclays), which supports upside expectations and likely helped buying interest this morning. Read More. • Read More. • Read More. • Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Q2 EPS slightly beat consensus (reported EPS vs. estimate) and sales grew ~8% Y/Y; management highlighted commercial growth and store expansion as offsets to the topline shortfall. That beat helps justify current valuations despite headwinds. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Management reiterated an aggressive store growth plan (targeting 350–360 new stores for 2026), which supports long‑term revenue expansion and is a constructive growth catalyst. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views are mixed overall — some firms cut PTs modestly but kept buy ratings, while others raised targets; the net effect is a crowded but heterogeneous analyst stance that creates both upside and downside scenarios. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Topline missed a few estimates and management said an unusually strong winter season and softer Mexico sales weighed on Q2 revenues — a clear near-term headwind to growth. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure from higher production costs, LIFO inventory impacts and accelerated SG&A investments was highlighted by several reports and analysts; margin compression could limit near-term EPS upside even with revenue growth. Read More. • Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Some firms trimmed price targets or moved to neutral (e.g., Mizuho raised its PT but set a neutral rating at a level below the current price), introducing potential selling pressure for investors focused on near‑term downside risk. Read More.

AutoZone Company Profile

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.