Petco Health and Wellness (NASDAQ:WOOF) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by The Goldman Sachs Group

Key Points

• Petco Health and Wellness (NASDAQ:WOOF) was downgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group from "Buy" to "Neutral" with a $3.83 price target, implying roughly a 37% upside from the current share price.
• Overall analyst sentiment is mixed — MarketBeat shows a consensus "Hold" with a $4.04 average target, while brokers range from Jefferies' Buy/$5 target to Weiss Ratings' "Sell (D-)."
• Petco's latest quarter missed EPS (‑$0.01 vs. $0.02 estimate) with revenue roughly in line but down 2.4% YoY, and the company has slim margins and notable leverage (market cap ≈ $899M, debt/equity 1.28).

Petco Health and Wellness (NASDAQ:WOOF - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report issued on Monday. They presently have a $3.83 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 37.28% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WOOF. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Petco Health and Wellness from $3.50 to $4.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Petco Health and Wellness from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $4.05 to $5.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Evercore dropped their target price on shares of Petco Health and Wellness from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Petco Health and Wellness in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Petco Health and Wellness from $3.50 to $4.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.04.

Petco Health and Wellness Price Performance

NASDAQ:WOOF opened at $2.79 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $2.69 and a 200-day moving average of $3.01. The company has a market capitalization of $898.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.00, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.62. Petco Health and Wellness has a 52 week low of $2.24 and a 52 week high of $4.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Petco Health and Wellness (NASDAQ:WOOF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Petco Health and Wellness had a return on equity of 0.89% and a net margin of 0.15%.Petco Health and Wellness's revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.05) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Petco Health and Wellness will post -0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nuveen LLC raised its holdings in shares of Petco Health and Wellness by 81.9% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 3,998,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,860 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Petco Health and Wellness by 42.0% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,091,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,583 shares during the last quarter. Candlestick Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Petco Health and Wellness in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,772,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Petco Health and Wellness by 60.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,637,695 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Petco Health and Wellness in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,692,000.

About Petco Health and Wellness

Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc NASDAQ: WOOF is a leading U.S. pet specialty retailer focused on delivering products, services and solutions that improve the health and well-being of pets. The company operates a network of retail locations that provide high-quality pet food, supplies and accessories, along with a growing digital platform that supports online ordering, subscription delivery and telehealth consultations for pets.

In addition to its retail offerings, Petco has built a full suite of in-store and virtual services, including grooming, training, dog daycare and veterinary care.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.