Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Price Target Lowered to $238.00 at Morgan Stanley

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $238.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 50.93% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $213.50.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded down $7.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $157.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,536,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,906,391. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $168.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $71.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 482.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 92.80% of the stock is 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.