PetMed Express (NASDAQ:PETS) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• PetMed Express's stock rating has been downgraded from "hold" to "sell" by analysts at Wall Street Zen, indicating a pessimistic outlook on the stock's performance.
• The company reported a significant loss of ($0.56) EPS for the most recent quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates, and has a current share price target of $3.20.
• Despite the recent downgrade, institutional investors are showing interest, with over 73% of the stock owned by institutional investors and several making significant acquisitions recently.

PetMed Express (NASDAQ:PETS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of PetMed Express in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of PetMed Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Sell" and a consensus price target of $3.20.

PetMed Express Stock Performance

Shares of PETS stock opened at $2.51 on Friday. PetMed Express has a 52-week low of $2.42 and a 52-week high of $6.85. The stock has a market cap of $52.76 million, a PE ratio of 251.25 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $2.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.25.

PetMed Express (NASDAQ:PETS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.60). The business had revenue of $46.47 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PetMed Express will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Silvercape Investments Ltd acquired 101,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $3.17 per share, for a total transaction of $320,170.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 2,579,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,177,636.32. The trade was a 4.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PetMed Express

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PETS. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of PetMed Express during the first quarter worth $295,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PetMed Express by 80.1% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 60,629 shares of the company's stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 26,967 shares during the period. Caption Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PetMed Express during the first quarter worth $242,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PetMed Express by 59.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 33,209 shares of the company's stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 12,360 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of PetMed Express during the second quarter worth $34,000. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PetMed Express

PetMed Express, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a pet pharmacy in the United States. The company markets prescription and non-prescription pet medications, health products, and other supplies for dogs, cats, and horses. It offers non-prescription medications and supplies, such as flea and tick control products, bone and joint care products, vitamins, treats, nutritional supplements, hygiene products, and household pet supplies; and prescription medications, including heartworm preventatives, flea and tick preventatives, arthritis, dermatitis, thyroid, diabetes, pain medications, heart/blood pressure, and other specialty medications, as well as generic substitutes.

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