Petco Health and Wellness (NASDAQ:WOOF) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:WOOF) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after Jefferies Financial Group upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $2.40, but opened at $2.93. Jefferies Financial Group now has a $5.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $4.05. Petco Health and Wellness shares last traded at $3.2550, with a volume of 8,771,926 shares traded.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Evercore cut their price objective on Petco Health and Wellness from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Petco Health and Wellness in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.94.

Key Stories Impacting Petco Health and Wellness

Here are the key news stories impacting Petco Health and Wellness this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies upgraded Petco to Buy and raised its price target to $5, saying the turnaround is complete and growth is ahead; that upgrade and the elevated PT are a direct catalyst for the rally. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 showed stronger profitability metrics: EBITDA growth, narrower loss versus prior year and reduced leverage — signals that operational fixes are working and support multiple expansion. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management shifted from cost savings to growth initiatives — expanding services (grooming/training), fresh food and own brands, and provided FY‑2026 revenue guidance (~$6.0–$6.1B) and a 0–1.5% sales growth target for 2026, which supports a constructive forward narrative. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Top-line was mixed: Q4 revenue modestly beat estimates ($1.52B vs. $1.51B) but was down 2.4% year‑over‑year — a small revenue beat plus improving margins creates mixed near-term signals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Petco missed EPS estimates for the quarter (reported a slight loss vs. a small expected profit), and consensus forecasts still expect negative full‑year EPS, which keeps profitability risk on investors’ radar. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite improvements, revenue decline and thin net margins (near breakeven) mean the company remains sensitive to consumer spending and execution risk as it pivots to growth. Article Title

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Petco Health and Wellness

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Petco Health and Wellness by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,455,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,571,000 after acquiring an additional 143,688 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Petco Health and Wellness by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,416,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,572,000 after purchasing an additional 621,026 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Petco Health and Wellness by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,091,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,583 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC increased its holdings in shares of Petco Health and Wellness by 81.9% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 3,998,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Petco Health and Wellness by 60.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,637,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367,299 shares during the period.

Petco Health and Wellness Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $2.70 and its 200-day moving average is $3.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.67 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Petco Health and Wellness (NASDAQ:WOOF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Petco Health and Wellness had a net margin of 0.15% and a return on equity of 0.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.05) EPS. Analysts forecast that Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. will post -0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Petco Health and Wellness Company Profile

Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc (NASDAQ: WOOF) is a leading U.S. pet specialty retailer focused on delivering products, services and solutions that improve the health and well-being of pets. The company operates a network of retail locations that provide high-quality pet food, supplies and accessories, along with a growing digital platform that supports online ordering, subscription delivery and telehealth consultations for pets.

In addition to its retail offerings, Petco has built a full suite of in-store and virtual services, including grooming, training, dog daycare and veterinary care.