Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Autoliv from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Autoliv from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research downgraded Autoliv from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Autoliv from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Autoliv from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.90.

Autoliv Price Performance

NYSE ALV traded down $0.44 on Friday, reaching $121.36. 606,869 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 550,976. Autoliv has a 12 month low of $79.66 and a 12 month high of $125.91. The company has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.69. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Insider Activity

In other Autoliv news, VP Mikael Hagstrom sold 327 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.69, for a total transaction of $35,868.63. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,868.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Mikael Hagstrom sold 327 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.69, for a total value of $35,868.63. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,868.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 4,226 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.72, for a total value of $463,676.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 17,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,925,256.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,606 shares of company stock worth $835,205 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autoliv

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Autoliv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $91,065,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 169.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 759,239 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $83,661,000 after purchasing an additional 477,800 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Autoliv by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,264,937 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $507,961,000 after purchasing an additional 459,147 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 183.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 487,586 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $47,042,000 after purchasing an additional 315,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Autoliv by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 958,304 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $105,596,000 after buying an additional 278,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

Autoliv Company Profile

Autoliv, Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and supplies passive safety systems to the automotive industry in Europe, the Americas, China, Japan, and rest of Asia. It offers passive safety systems, including modules and components for frontal-impact airbag protection systems, side-impact airbag protection systems, seatbelts, steering wheels, and inflator technologies.