PetIQ, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETQ) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

PetIQ, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETQ) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,020,000 shares, a decrease of 15.7% from the September 30th total of 1,210,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 885,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days. Currently, 3.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

PetIQ Price Performance

Shares of PETQ stock remained flat at $30.98 during trading hours on Monday. PetIQ has a 12 month low of $15.09 and a 12 month high of $31.06. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a market capitalization of $921.72 million, a P/E ratio of 140.82 and a beta of 1.73.

PetIQ (NASDAQ:PETQ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $328.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.14 million. PetIQ had a net margin of 1.20% and a return on equity of 18.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PetIQ will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of PetIQ

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in PetIQ by 64.4% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 2,233 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in PetIQ in the third quarter worth approximately $370,000. Trust Point Inc. bought a new stake in PetIQ in the third quarter worth approximately $210,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in PetIQ by 60.0% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 3,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in PetIQ by 476.4% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 486,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,731,000 after acquiring an additional 402,057 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on PETQ shares. William Blair downgraded shares of PetIQ from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of PetIQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $31.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.67.

About PetIQ

PetIQ, Inc operates as a pet medication and wellness company in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Products and Services. The company offers Rx pet medications, which sells flea and tick control, heartworm preventatives, arthritis, thyroid, diabetes and pain treatments, antibiotics, and other specialty medications; and develops and manufactures its own proprietary value-branded products, as well as third-party branded products for dogs and cats.