StockNews.com Downgrades PetMed Express (NASDAQ:PETS) to Hold

PetMed Express (NASDAQ:PETS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Separately, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on PetMed Express from $3.50 to $3.20 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th.

PetMed Express Price Performance

Shares of PETS stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $3.72. The company had a trading volume of 38,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 285,239. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $3.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.44. PetMed Express has a one year low of $2.90 and a one year high of $6.85. The company has a market capitalization of $76.76 million, a PE ratio of 373.37 and a beta of 0.76.

PetMed Express (NASDAQ:PETS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.02). PetMed Express had a net margin of 0.14% and a return on equity of 0.37%. Analysts forecast that PetMed Express will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sandra Yvette Campos sold 60,463 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.31, for a total transaction of $200,132.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 578,524 shares in the company, valued at $1,914,914.44. The trade was a 9.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PetMed Express

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in PetMed Express by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 513,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,474,000 after purchasing an additional 107,614 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in shares of PetMed Express by 95.2% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 20,300 shares of the company's stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 9,900 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PetMed Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 224,788 shares of the company's stock worth $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 3,558 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PetMed Express by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 33,662 shares of the company's stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 4,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of PetMed Express in the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company's stock.

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.