The security is brushing off an upgrade to "overweight"
Barclays upgraded Chewy Inc (NYSE:CHWY) to "overweight" from "equal-weight," and raised its price objective to $30 from $19. The analyst in coverage said the pet e-tailer is insulated against competition from Chinese e-commerce name Temu, and now offers an attractive entry point, with revenue expected to grow in the second half of the year.
The brokerage bunch was optimistic toward CHWY coming into today, with 14 of the 23 firms in question calling it a "buy" or better. Plus, the 12-month consensus target price of $26.49 is a 29.5% premium to current levels. Short interest is unwinding, too, down 13.4% over the last reporting period, though it still makes up 15.6% of the security's available float.
That analyst optimism is echoed in the options pits. This is per Chewy stock's10-day call/put volume ratio of 4.03 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which stands higher than 87% of annual readings.
CHWY was last seen down 1.2% at $19.70 as the market reacts to the latest inflation data. The shares are currently testing support at the 80-day moving average, following a pullback from their highest level since September. Over the last 12 months, the stock fell 53.6%.