Petco Health and Wellness (NASDAQ:WOOF) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:WOOF)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $3.62, but opened at $3.23. Petco Health and Wellness shares last traded at $2.79, with a volume of 4,619,524 shares changing hands.

The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.03). Petco Health and Wellness had a negative return on equity of 5.40% and a negative net margin of 1.77%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.04) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on WOOF shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Petco Health and Wellness from $5.00 to $2.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Petco Health and Wellness from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Petco Health and Wellness from $5.00 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Petco Health and Wellness from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Petco Health and Wellness from $5.00 to $4.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Petco Health and Wellness currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.75.

Insider Activity at Petco Health and Wellness

In related news, CEO Joel D. Anderson acquired 849,541 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $3.03 per share, for a total transaction of $2,574,109.23. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 853,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,585,511.12. The trade was a 22,576.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Petco Health and Wellness by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 45,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 5,660 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Petco Health and Wellness during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Petco Health and Wellness by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 203,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 43,229 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Petco Health and Wellness during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,864,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in Petco Health and Wellness during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,428,000.

Petco Health and Wellness Stock Down 23.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $876.05 million, a P/E ratio of -6.95 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $3.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.44.

Petco Health and Wellness Company Profile

Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc, operates as a health and wellness company, focuses on enhancing the lives of pets, pet parents, and its Petco partners in the United States, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The company provides veterinary care, grooming, training, tele-health, and Vital Care and pet health insurance services, as well as veterinary services through Vetco mobile clinics.