Zacks Research Downgrades Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) to Strong Sell

Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BNP Paribas Exane restated a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Chewy in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Chewy from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Chewy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Chewy in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Chewy from $33.00 to $31.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.05.

Chewy Stock Performance

Chewy stock opened at $18.53 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of 30.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.44. Chewy has a fifty-two week low of $17.40 and a fifty-two week high of $43.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $21.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.38.

Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 10th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Chewy had a net margin of 1.99% and a return on equity of 60.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. Chewy has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.360-0.360 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Chewy will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chewy news, General Counsel Da-Wai Hu sold 8,149 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.91, for a total transaction of $219,289.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sumit Singh sold 83,306 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.60, for a total value of $2,132,633.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 874,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,375,961.60. The trade was a 8.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 95,675 shares of company stock valued at $2,459,955. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chewy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Chewy by 2.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 220,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,168,000 after buying an additional 5,466 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Chewy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $510,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Chewy by 5,238.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 32,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 31,901 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Chewy by 1.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,176,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,236,000 after purchasing an additional 17,788 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Chewy by 31.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 383,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,483,000 after acquiring an additional 92,129 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chewy Company Profile

Chewy, Inc (NYSE: CHWY) is a leading e-commerce retailer specializing in pet food, supplies and services. The company offers a comprehensive assortment of products for dogs, cats, fish, birds and other small animals, including prescription medications, veterinary health products, grooming essentials and toys. Through its online platform and mobile app, Chewy provides an intuitive shopping experience with features such as Autoship, ensuring regular deliveries of pet essentials at schedule intervals.

Founded in 2011 by Ryan Cohen and Michael Day, Chewy initially operated under the name Mr.