Petco stock surges 33% after Roaring Kitty post

By Josh Beckerman

CEO touts focus on profitability after second-quarter earnings

Shares of Petco Health & Wellness shares (WOOF) rose after it reported second-quarter results and executives on the earnings call discussed a focus on improving cash flow.

The stock jumped 32.9% to $4.08 on Wednesday but is down about 14% for the past 52 weeks.

It may have gotten a boost after influential meme-stock trader Roaring Kitty, aka Keith Gill, reposted a Reddit post that read "Woof is going bananas. Who's here with me?"

Revenue declined 0.5% to $1.52 billion, while the adjusted loss was 2 cents a share, compared with adjusted earnings of 6 cents a share a year earlier, Petco said Tuesday. For the third quarter, Petco expects an adjusted loss of 3 cents to 4 cents a share on revenue of $1.5 billion.

In a press release, Chief Executive Joel Anderson said "Looking ahead, I see tremendous opportunities for us to significantly improve our operating and financial performance and better leverage Petco's strengths to capture greater share, deliver sustained profitability, and create value for shareholders."

RBC Capital raised its price target to $3.50 from $3, while Wells Fargo increased its target to $3 from $2.75. Wedbush maintained its $5 target and Baird kept its $3 target.

MarketWatch contributed to this report.

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09-11-24 1747ET

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