Petco Health and Wellness (NASDAQ:WOOF) Stock Price Down 4.8% – Here’s Why

Shares of Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:WOOF) were down 4.8% on Friday . The company traded as low as $2.89 and last traded at $2.9050. Approximately 1,588,245 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 3,846,933 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on WOOF. Wall Street Zen raised Petco Health and Wellness from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Petco Health and Wellness in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Petco Health and Wellness from $4.05 to $4.15 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Petco Health and Wellness from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Petco Health and Wellness in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.96.

Petco Health and Wellness Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.24. The company has a market capitalization of $931.60 million, a P/E ratio of -291.71 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Petco Health and Wellness (NASDAQ:WOOF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.02. Petco Health and Wellness had a negative net margin of 0.04% and a positive return on equity of 0.46%. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.02) earnings per share. Petco Health and Wellness’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. will post -0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Petco Health and Wellness

In other news, CRO Patrick J. Venezia sold 74,192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.08, for a total transaction of $228,511.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive owned 474,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,462,531.84. The trade was a 13.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Petco Health and Wellness

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WOOF. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Petco Health and Wellness in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,770,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Petco Health and Wellness in the second quarter valued at approximately $264,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in Petco Health and Wellness in the second quarter valued at approximately $665,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Petco Health and Wellness by 19.0% in the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,793,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,075,000 after acquiring an additional 286,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Petco Health and Wellness by 347.6% during the 1st quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP now owns 1,078,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,289,000 after acquiring an additional 837,407 shares during the period.

About Petco Health and Wellness

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.