HighTower Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Chewy $CHWY

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has significantly reduced its stake in Chewy by selling 58,943 shares, now holding only 40,923 shares valued at approximately $1.33 million.
• Several other institutional investors have increased their positions in Chewy, contributing to a strong institutional ownership that now stands at 93.09%.
• Analysts are optimistic about Chewy's growth, with Barclays raising the target price to $50 and most analysts maintaining a positive outlook on the company's stock.

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Chewy (NYSE:CHWY - Free Report) by 59.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,923 shares of the company's stock after selling 58,943 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Chewy were worth $1,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Durable Capital Partners LP bought a new position in Chewy during the fourth quarter valued at $79,050,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Chewy during the first quarter valued at $61,390,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of Chewy by 6,336.6% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,609,149 shares of the company's stock worth $53,890,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584,149 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Chewy by 151.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 921,580 shares of the company's stock worth $30,864,000 after acquiring an additional 555,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Chewy by 6.5% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 849,834 shares of the company's stock worth $27,628,000 after acquiring an additional 52,141 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chewy Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:CHWY traded down $0.44 on Friday, reaching $40.99. 4,837,101 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,303,657. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $39.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.08. Chewy has a 52 week low of $25.19 and a 52 week high of $48.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.44 and a beta of 1.67.

Chewy (NYSE:CHWY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01. Chewy had a return on equity of 35.04% and a net margin of 3.21%.The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Chewy has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Chewy will post 0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Satish Mehta sold 8,727 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.82, for a total value of $312,601.14. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 276,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,903,047.94. This trade represents a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO William G. Billings sold 20,142 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.57, for a total transaction of $716,450.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 29,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,048,034.48. This trade represents a 40.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,008,777 shares of company stock valued at $1,252,444,321 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CHWY shares. Barclays increased their target price on Chewy from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho downgraded Chewy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Chewy in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Chewy in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Chewy in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Chewy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.78.

Chewy 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.