One of this week’s top earnings movers is Chewy (NYSE:CHWY). Like other e-commerce plays, this pet product retailer became a winner among Covid-19 lockdown stocks back in 2020. Since then, CHWY stock hasn’t quite returned to its 2020 highs. However, shares are up 25% as of this writing after surging in premarket trading and beating Wall Street expectations on both top- and bottom-line estimates in its report.
For Q1, Chewy reported revenue of $2.78 billion, topping the forecast $2.73 billion and representing a nearly 15% increase year-over-year (YOY). EPS came in at 5 cents as well, better than the 4 cents per share predicted by Wall Street. That’s not where it stops, either. As Barron’s reports:
“[It] wasn’t just earnings that were spectacular. The company said that gross margins had increased by 0.9 percentage point, while net sales per active customer and Autoship sales per customer reached record levels. Chewy also said full-year sales would come in between $11.15 billion and $11.35 billion, up 10% to 12% from the previous year.”
The ultimate takeaway from Chewy’s successful quarter is that people are still spending money on their pets. This is hardly surprising, but it is noteworthy. Not all pandemic winners have adapted so well to life post-lockdown. However, Chewy is proving that it’s here to stay, with no intention of surrendering its lucrative market share. While institutional sentiment has been mixed during the previous quarter, the company’s latest report may signal a turning point.
Top Investors in CHWY Stock
As Chewy struggled during the previous quarter, some institutional investors opted to decrease their positions in the firm. According to data from WhaleWisdom, the number of funds holding CHWY stock fell by 2% in Q1 to 368. Meanwhile, the amount of 13F shares also decreased slightly, from 417.52 million to 416.82 million shares
That said, while the number of new positions in Chewy decreased by 24%, the number of increased positions rose by more than 25%. Additionally, while closed positions in CHWY stock shot up 20%, the number of reduced positions fell by 15%. Finally, the company’s put/call ratio is rising steadily, currently sitting at 1.36. This indicates that bearish sentiment toward shares is rising.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top investors still betting big on CHWY stock.
- Argos Holdings: 328.77 million shares. Argos’ position is accurate as of Q4 2021.
- BC Partners Advisors: 311.85 million shares. BC had no change in its Chewy position during Q1.
- Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS): 17.16 million shares. Morgan Stanley sold 3.12 million shares in Q1.
- Baillie Gifford: 16.52 million shares. Baillie Gifford sold 552,316 shares of CHWY stock during Q1.
- Vanguard: 7.87 million shares. Vanguard bought 253,336 shares during Q1.
On the date of publication, Samuel O’Brient did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
