Argus Reaffirms Buy Rating for Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Argus has reaffirmed a "buy" rating for Zoetis, setting a price target of $190.00, indicating a potential upside of 25.68% from the previous close.
• While some firms like Stifel Nicolaus and Leerink Partners have downgraded Zoetis' stock, others, such as Piper Sandler, have raised their price objectives, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $200.88.
• Zoetis recently reported earnings of $1.76 per share, beating analyst expectations, and announced revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, a 4.2% year-over-year increase.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by Argus in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Argus' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 25.68% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partners cut shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.88.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $151.18 on Tuesday. Zoetis has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $153.08 and a 200 day moving average of $157.67. The stock has a market cap of $67.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.83% and a return on equity of 56.90%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 0.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,886,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,532,276,000 after acquiring an additional 330,823 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,081,301 shares of the company's stock worth $1,721,356,000 after acquiring an additional 95,294 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 17.6% during the first quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,796,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,448,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,313,653 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Zoetis by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,504,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,071,032,000 after acquiring an additional 78,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 2nd quarter worth $809,491,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Zoetis

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.