Bank of America Upgrades Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) to “Buy”

Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) was upgraded by investment analysts at Bank of America from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $40.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $24.00. Bank of America‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 11.92% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Chewy from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Chewy in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on Chewy from $21.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup raised Chewy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $28.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Chewy in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chewy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.25.

Chewy Price Performance

NYSE:CHWY opened at $35.74 on Wednesday. Chewy has a 1-year low of $14.69 and a 1-year high of $39.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.85. The firm has a market cap of $14.94 billion, a PE ratio of 43.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.06.

Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.02. Chewy had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 3.20%. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.86 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Chewy will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Argos Holdings Gp Llc sold 26,870,748 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.40, for a total transaction of $789,999,991.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chewy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BC Partners Advisors L.P. acquired a new position in Chewy in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,517,800,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Chewy by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,480,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,740,000 after purchasing an additional 875,532 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Chewy by 166.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,995,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,023,000 after buying an additional 2,497,689 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Chewy by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,553,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,787,000 after buying an additional 258,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Chewy by 1,028.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,892,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,801,000 after buying an additional 2,636,526 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

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.