Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Chewy, Inc. (NYSE:CHWY) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $33.61, but opened at $34.45. Chewy shares last traded at $33.04, with a volume of 6,614,334 shares traded.

The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Chewy had a net margin of 3.51% and a return on equity of 24.47%. The company’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Chewy to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Chewy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Guggenheim set a $42.00 price objective on Chewy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI raised Chewy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Chewy from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chewy

In other Chewy news, CTO Satish Mehta sold 71,365 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.60, for a total value of $2,540,594.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 262,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,357,566.80. This represents a 21.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sumit Singh sold 9,285 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $371,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 489,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,590,000. This trade represents a 1.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,083,269 shares of company stock valued at $290,611,129 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in Chewy in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Chewy by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 979 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Chewy by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Chewy during the third quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Chewy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Chewy Trading Down 1.7 %

The company has a market cap of $13.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $36.00 and its 200-day moving average is $33.13.

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.