Wedbush Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) Stock

Chewy (NYSE:CHWY - Free Report) had its target price boosted by Wedbush from $39.00 to $45.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Chewy from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Chewy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Chewy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Chewy in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, JMP Securities reduced their price target on Chewy from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.72.

Chewy Price Performance

CHWY traded up $0.48 during trading on Thursday, reaching $41.24. 9,387,254 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,949,193. The stock has a market cap of $17.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.75. Chewy has a fifty-two week low of $19.75 and a fifty-two week high of $48.62. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $39.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.53.

Chewy (NYSE:CHWY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01. Chewy had a return on equity of 24.47% and a net margin of 3.51%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Chewy will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO David Reeder sold 7,863 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.50, for a total transaction of $286,999.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,582 shares in the company, valued at $422,743. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Satish Mehta sold 9,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.50, for a total value of $337,369.50. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 276,467 shares in the company, valued at $10,091,045.50. This represents a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 236,046 shares of company stock valued at $9,387,635. Insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chewy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BC Partners PE LP bought a new stake in shares of Chewy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,142,402,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chewy by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,484,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $485,093,000 after purchasing an additional 3,493,926 shares during the period. Durable Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Chewy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $79,050,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Chewy by 4,577.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,191,146 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,381,000 after purchasing an additional 2,144,302 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Chewy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,789,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Chewy

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.