Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) Trading Up 3.1% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Chewy, Inc. (NYSE:CHWY)’s share price rose 3.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $42.06 and last traded at $42.03. Approximately 1,161,383 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 6,915,408 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.76.

The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. Chewy had a net margin of 3.51% and a return on equity of 24.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Chewy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities dropped their target price on shares of Chewy from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Chewy from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Chewy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $43.00 price target (up from $41.00) on shares of Chewy in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Eight equities research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chewy

In other Chewy news, CFO David Reeder sold 7,863 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.50, for a total value of $286,999.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 11,582 shares in the company, valued at $422,743. This trade represents a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sumit Singh sold 148,063 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.67, for a total transaction of $6,021,722.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 705,252 shares in the company, valued at $28,682,598.84. The trade was a 17.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 236,046 shares of company stock worth $9,387,635 over the last quarter. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chewy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Chewy by 150.2% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 788 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in Chewy during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Chewy by 104.6% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 941 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Chewy during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its position in Chewy by 26.6% during the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chewy Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.75.

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.