Short Interest in PetIQ, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETQ) Declines By 15.7%

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PETQ. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of PetIQ by 64.4% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 2,233 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PetIQ in the 3rd quarter worth about $370,000. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PetIQ in the 3rd quarter worth about $210,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of PetIQ by 60.0% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 3,906 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of PetIQ by 476.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 486,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,731,000 after buying an additional 402,057 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PetIQ Price Performance

NASDAQ:PETQ remained flat at $30.98 during midday trading on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is $30.76 and its 200-day moving average is $24.72. The company has a market capitalization of $925.99 million, a P/E ratio of 79.44 and a beta of 1.73. PetIQ has a 1-year low of $15.09 and a 1-year high of $31.06.

PetIQ (NASDAQ:PETQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $328.90 million for 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PetIQ will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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