Petco price target lowered to $14.50 from $18 at BofA

BofA analyst Elizabeth Suzuki lowered the firm’s price target on Petco to $14.50 from $18 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after the firm adjusted estimates to be consistent with the company’s more conservative approach to non-GAAP adjustments and its Q4 results. BofA notes that its new EPS estimates are not comparable to the prior estimates, as they no longer back out store opening and closing costs, non-cash occupancy, or certain other non-GAAP items that are more frequent than one-time in nature and that consensus estimates may also not be comparable due to differences in accounting treatments for these items. It also notes that pet specialty retail is one of only categories it tracks that continues to post positive year-over-year growth in consumer spending and says this resilience was underscored by Petco’s recent results.