O'Reilly Automotive stock gets analyst upgrade

Shares of O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY) received a big boost Tuesday when international analysis firm RBC Capital Markets improved its outlook for the stock.

RBC analyst Scot Ciccarelli upgraded O'Reilly to a "top pick" from "outperform" status, saying that the company was his favorite among aftermarket auto retailers, according to the Associated Press.

RBC said O'Reilly should be in line to increase sales to repair shops and garages because of its ongoing integration of Phoenix-based CSK Auto stores purchased in July 2008. O'Reilly purchased CSK's 1,350 stores in the roughly $1 billion deal.

"We believe this is the key to the story - the ability to drive about $100,000 in commercial CSK sales to a more normal and mature 'O'Reilly level' of commercial sales of $500,000 to $700,000 within three to four years," Ciccarelli told investors in a research report, which spread this week across news Web sites including CNBC and Forbes.

Ciccarelli also raised O'Reilly's 2010 profit estimate to $2.60 per share, up from $2.55, and set a 2011 profit outlook of $3 per share.

Shares of O'Reilly opened Tuesday at $38.13 and closed up nearly 2 percent at $38.85, compared to a 52-week range of $26.47 to $42.93. Shares were up to $39.11 as of 9:45 a.m.