Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Chewy, Inc. (NYSE:CHWY) shares 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 Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CHWY shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Chewy from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Chewy from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Chewy from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Chewy from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $39.00 price objective (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Chewy in a research note 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Chewy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.60.

Chewy Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $14.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.94.

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

Insider Activity at Chewy

In other news, major shareholder Argos Holdings Gp Llc sold 19,827,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.32, for a total value of $620,989,219.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sumit Singh sold 71,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $2,490,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,695. The trade was a 91.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,799,523 shares of company stock worth $682,554,313. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chewy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BC Partners Advisors L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Chewy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,517,800,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Chewy by 166.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,995,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,023,000 after purchasing an additional 2,497,689 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Chewy by 1,028.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,892,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,636,526 shares in the last quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Chewy by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 2,765,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,014,000 after buying an additional 138,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chewy by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,521,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,693,000 after buying an additional 200,900 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.