Citigroup Upgrades Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) to “Buy”

Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) was upgraded by investment analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $40.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $28.00. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 30.42% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on CHWY. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Chewy from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Chewy in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Chewy from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Chewy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Chewy in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.15.

Chewy Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CHWY opened at $30.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.40, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $28.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.75. Chewy has a 12-month low of $14.69 and a 12-month high of $39.10.

Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.02. Chewy had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 21.00%. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.86 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Chewy will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chewy news, major shareholder Argos Holdings Gp Llc sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.40, for a total transaction of $36,750,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BC Partners Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Chewy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,517,800,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Chewy by 9.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,480,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,740,000 after buying an additional 875,532 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Chewy by 7.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,553,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,787,000 after buying an additional 258,502 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Chewy by 1,028.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,892,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,801,000 after buying an additional 2,636,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chewy by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,521,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,693,000 after acquiring an additional 200,900 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chewy Company Profile

Chewy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the pure play e-commerce business in the United States. It provides pet food and treats, pet supplies and pet medications, and other pet-health products, as well as pet services for dogs, cats, fish, birds, small pets, horses, and reptiles through its retail websites and mobile applications.