Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Chewy, Inc. (NYSE:CHWY) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $33.87, but opened at $34.80. Chewy shares last traded at $35.31, with a volume of 1,002,167 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on CHWY shares. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Chewy in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Chewy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup upgraded shares of Chewy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Chewy from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Chewy in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.60.

Chewy Trading Up 6.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $14.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.94.

Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.15. Chewy had a net margin of 3.51% and a return on equity of 24.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.08) EPS. Chewy’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Chewy, Inc. will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chewy news, major shareholder Argos Holdings Gp Llc sold 1,250,000 shares of Chewy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.40, for a total value of $36,750,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sumit Singh sold 571,903 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.52, for a total transaction of $19,742,091.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 898,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,006,623.44. This represents a 38.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,799,523 shares of company stock valued at $682,554,313. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chewy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Chewy by 183.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Chewy by 0.3% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 278,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,156,000 after acquiring an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Chewy by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 11,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Chewy by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 26,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after acquiring an additional 1,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Chewy during the 3rd quarter worth $52,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.