Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Upgraded at Leerink Partnrs

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) was upgraded by investment analysts at Leerink Partnrs to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.80.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $176.81 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $79.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.24, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.97. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Zoetis will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,864,488,000 after buying an additional 95,856 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,030,813,000 after acquiring an additional 185,364 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,687,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $812,695,000 after purchasing an additional 178,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 5.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,896,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,221,000 after purchasing an additional 194,542 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Zoetis

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.