Petco jumps after CEO discloses stock purchase

Shares of Petco Health and Wellness WOOF.O jump 12.7% early Weds to $3.34, after hitting over two-mth high, following CEO disclosure of stock purchases

CEO Joel Anderson bought nearly 1.6 mln shares recently, bringing his holdings to ~3.2 mln shares, per SEC filing late Tues

San Diego, California-based pet retailer has ~315.1 mln shares outstanding for roughly $1.1 bln current market cap, per LSEG data

On Thurs, WOOF shares leaped ~32% to $3.21 after co posted Q4 sales of $1.6 bln, in line with consensus, and forecasted current qtr and annual sales down low single-digits y/y

WOOF shares are highly shorted. As of Mar 14, short interest stood at ~37% of co's public float, according to LSEG

Of 12 analysts covering WOOF, recommendation breakdown is 3 "strong buy" or "buy", 8 "hold" and 1 "sell" and their median PT is $4

With move on Weds, shares still down 12% YTD vs 10% decline in the Nasdaq .IXIC