Credit Suisse Sees O'Reilly Automotive Continuing To Operate At High Gear

In a report published Thursday, Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter reiterated an Outperform rating and $175.00 price target on

. In the report, Credit Suisse noted, “ORLY's Q3 results once again demonstrated it offers the best operational results in the DIY Auto industry. Despite every major player mentioning a moderation in top-line growth exiting Q2 and early reporter NAPA indicating U.S. comps in Q3 slowed 200 bps sequentially on a two-year stack, ORLY's comps of 6.2% were 190 bps higher than consensus and represented only a small 80 bps deceleration on a two-year stack from very strong Q2 results.Top-line strength along with operating margin expansion of 93 bps y/y and continuation of ORLY's rich buyback program led to an $0.11 EPS beat. We are raising our EPS estimates in FY 14 and 15 to $7.21 and $8.21 (from $7.06 and $8.15), respectively reflecting the Q3 EPS beat and our belief that 2015 will be a strong year of growth for all of our DIY Auto names. We see declining gas prices (September's gas prices were down 3.3% y/y and at the lowest level seen since 2010) leading to a pick-up in miles driven and ultimately, wear-and-tear sales.” O'Reilly Automotive closed on Wednesday at $157.36.