O'Reilly Auto officer makes stock transaction

Photo courtesy O’Reilly Automotive Inc.

Jason Tarrant makes $1.5 million on an early May trade deal.

An O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY) executive completed the first stock trade among company officers in nearly two months.

Jason Tarrant, the auto parts retailer's senior vice president of western store operations and sales, on May 1 made a net $1.5 million on a multifaceted trade transaction, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Tarrant utilized SEC transaction code M, through which executives can buy shares at set rates and sell them later at market prices.

Trading by company executives came to a halt in early March following a steady stream of trades earlier in the year, according to SEC filings.

ORLY shares yesterday crossed the $400 mark for the first time since early February. The stock's 52-week range is $251.52 to $454.31 per share.

The company last month reported a first quarter earnings drop of 6.5% to $300.4 million.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, O'Reilly Automotive shares have weathered the storm better than most, as the company was marked as an essential business and its shares have typically been labeled by analysts as recession-proof.