Piper says reduced PE ownership of Chewy positive for shares

Piper Sandler says Chewy last night announced a $500M stock offering by BC Partners and said it will buy back $300M worth of shares from BC. The sizable private equity ownership has been part of the bear case on the stock, and “reining that in” are all positives for the story, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says the shift in ownership away from private equity towards public investors could improve liquidity and long-term shareholder value. With PE ownership now less than 60% of Chewy, Piper keeps an Overweight rating on the shares with a $35 price target.