Morgan Stanley Cuts Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) Price Target to $39.00

Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $40.00 to $39.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on CHWY. Evercore ISI upgraded Chewy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $34.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Chewy from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Argus upgraded shares of Chewy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Chewy in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Chewy to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.47.

Chewy Price Performance

Shares of Chewy stock opened at $35.18 on Thursday. Chewy has a 1-year low of $14.69 and a 1-year high of $40.09. The stock has a market cap of $14.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.55.

Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. Chewy had a return on equity of 24.47% and a net margin of 3.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Chewy will post 0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Chewy

In other news, CTO Satish Mehta sold 83,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $3,345,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 334,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,368,720. This represents a 20.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David Reeder sold 307,558 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.48, for a total value of $11,527,273.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 546,257 shares in the company, valued at $20,473,712.36. This trade represents a 36.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 551,303 shares of company stock valued at $20,752,583 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CHWY. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Chewy by 150.2% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 788 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in shares of Chewy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Chewy by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. grew its holdings in Chewy by 26.6% during the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Chewy by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Chewy Company Profile

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.