Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Rating Lowered to Market Perform at Leerink Partners

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Leerink Partners from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $155.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $180.00. Leerink Partners' target price points to a potential upside of 4.30% from the stock's previous close.

ZTS has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.63.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE ZTS traded down $1.42 on Thursday, reaching $148.61. The company had a trading volume of 4,723,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,619,032. The firm has a market cap of $66.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.91. Zoetis has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The business has a 50 day moving average of $161.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. Zoetis's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Zoetis will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. 1248 Management LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 79.3% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Company Profile

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.