Leerink Partners Downgrades Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) to Market Perform

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) was downgraded by research analysts at Leerink Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $155.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $180.00. Leerink Partners’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 4.30% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.63.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $148.61 on Thursday. Zoetis has a 12 month low of $139.70 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $160.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $66.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.91.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Zoetis will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Naples Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $227,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Zoetis by 43.2% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 545,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,063,000 after buying an additional 164,432 shares during the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners boosted its position in Zoetis by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. QTR Family Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in Zoetis by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Company Profile

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.