Petco Health and Wellness (NASDAQ:WOOF) Stock Price Up 8.8% – Here’s Why

Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:WOOF) shares rose 8.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $4.36 and last traded at $4.33. Approximately 1,222,333 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 4,454,867 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Petco Health and Wellness from $2.75 to $3.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Petco Health and Wellness from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Petco Health and Wellness from $3.00 to $3.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Petco Health and Wellness from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on Petco Health and Wellness from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Petco Health and Wellness has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.49.

Petco Health and Wellness Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.87 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Petco Health and Wellness (NASDAQ:WOOF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 10th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02). Petco Health and Wellness had a negative return on equity of 6.51% and a negative net margin of 21.46%. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.01) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. will post -0.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Petco Health and Wellness

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in Petco Health and Wellness in the 1st quarter valued at about $588,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Petco Health and Wellness by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,208,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254,554 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Petco Health and Wellness during the 1st quarter worth approximately $150,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Petco Health and Wellness by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 4,836 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Petco Health and Wellness during the first quarter worth $4,091,000.

About Petco Health and Wellness

Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc, operates as a health and wellness company, focuses on enhancing the lives of pets, pet parents, and its Petco partners in the United States, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The company provides veterinary care, grooming, training, tele-health, and Vital Care and pet health insurance services, as well as veterinary services through Vetco mobile clinics.