Morgan Stanley Cuts Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Price Target to $243.00

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $248.00 to $243.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 42.94% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Finally, Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.00.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS traded down $0.41 on Wednesday, reaching $170.01. 685,802 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,657,367. The firm has a market cap of $76.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.65.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 482.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.