VCA Antech Shares Popped: What You Need to Know (PETM, WOOF)

VCA Antech Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

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Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of vet services specialist VCA Antech (Nasdaq: WOOF ) climbed as much as 11% in intraday trading Friday after its quarterly results and full-year outlook topped Wall Street expectations.

So what: While VCA's fourth-quarter profit declined from the year-ago period, to $0.25 per share, it still managed to top the average analyst estimate of just $0.21 per share. Strong double-digit revenue growth from its animal hospital segment helped fuel the earnings beat, as recent hospital acquisitions are beginning to pay off.

Now what: VCA remains a decent opportunity. The shares might be rallying right now, but when you factor in today's full-year guidance boost, VCA currently sports a forward P/E of about 17. That's not exactly dirt cheap, but with historical operating margins more than double that of big rival PetSmart (Nasdaq: PETM ) , it seems like a reasonable value worth fetching.

Interested in more info on VCA Antech? Add it to your watchlist.

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Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. VCA Antech is a Motley Fool Inside Value pick. PetSmart is a selection of Stock Advisor. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

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