Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Chewy (NYSE:CHWY)

Chewy, Inc. (NYSE:CHWY) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 33,249 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 39% compared to the typical volume of 23,866 call options.

Chewy Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of CHWY stock opened at $34.19 on Wednesday. Chewy has a twelve month low of $14.69 and a twelve month high of $40.09. The company has a market capitalization of $13.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.57, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.49.

Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.15. Chewy had a net margin of 3.51% and a return on equity of 24.47%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.08) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Chewy will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHWY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded Chewy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Chewy from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Chewy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Chewy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Chewy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.30.

Insider Transactions at Chewy

In other news, CEO Sumit Singh sold 71,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.50, for a total transaction of $2,312,732.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,838 shares in the company, valued at $2,529,735. The trade was a 47.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Argos Holdings Gp Llc sold 19,827,242 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.32, for a total transaction of $620,989,219.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,553,371 shares of company stock worth $933,605,214 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chewy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chewy during the fourth quarter worth $235,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Chewy by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 288,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,670,000 after buying an additional 60,533 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Chewy in the 4th quarter valued at about $318,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Chewy during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chewy by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 291,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,774,000 after acquiring an additional 54,381 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.