Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Chewy (NYSE:CHWY)

Chewy, Inc. (NYSE:CHWY) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 39,060 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 65% compared to the typical volume of 23,729 call options.

Chewy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CHWY opened at $33.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.79 billion, a PE ratio of 37.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.99. Chewy has a one year low of $14.69 and a one year high of $40.09.

Insider Activity at Chewy

In other news, CFO David Reeder sold 307,558 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.48, for a total transaction of $11,527,273.84. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 546,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,473,712.36. This represents a 36.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sumit Singh sold 9,285 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $371,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 489,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,590,000. This trade represents a 1.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,726,333 shares of company stock valued at $312,843,856. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chewy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of Chewy in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Chewy by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 979 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Chewy by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Chewy during the third quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new position in Chewy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on CHWY shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Chewy from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Guggenheim set a $42.00 price objective on Chewy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas lowered Chewy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Chewy in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Argus upgraded Chewy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.95.

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.