Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Chewy, Inc. (NYSE:CHWY)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $33.61, but opened at $34.45. Chewy shares last traded at $33.04, with a volume of 6,614,334 shares traded.

The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.25. Chewy had a net margin of 3.51% and a return on equity of 24.47%. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on CHWY shares. Argus upgraded Chewy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Chewy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Chewy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Chewy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Chewy from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Satish Mehta sold 71,365 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.60, for a total transaction of $2,540,594.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 262,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,357,566.80. This represents a 21.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Argos Holdings Gp Llc sold 7,000,000 shares of Chewy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.77, for a total value of $250,390,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,083,269 shares of company stock valued at $290,611,129. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Chewy during the 4th quarter worth about $2,915,000. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Chewy in the third quarter valued at about $2,949,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Chewy during the fourth quarter worth about $69,789,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Chewy by 8.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,443,000 after purchasing an additional 119,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chewy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,174,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Chewy Trading Down 1.7 %

The company has a market cap of $13.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.91, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $36.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.13.

About Chewy

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.