Topic: How To Invest

Q: What do you think about the new Petco IPO? Seems like it’s in a growth market. Thanks for all your great advice.

Article Excerpt

A: Petco Health and Wellness Company, $27.19, symbol WOOF on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 226.4 million; Market cap: $8.1 billion; www.petco.com), is a pet-care retailer with nearly 1,470 locations across North America. Currently, 105 of those stores have a veterinarian practice attached. That’s up from 70 a year ago. The company’s Petco.com website added 3.5 million new online customers in 2020, mostly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Founded in 1965, the pet-care retailer considered selling itself for $6 billion in September 2020. In November, however, it decided to go public instead. It first sold shares to the public, and began trading on Nasdaq, on January 13, 2021. It raised $864 million through the sale of 48 million shares at $18 each. Petco’s stock closed its first day of trading up 63.3%. It has since given up some of that gain but is still 51.1% above its issue price. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and CVC Capital Partners acquired the specialty pet retailer in…