By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- Online pet supplier Chewy (NYSE:CHWY), Inc., rose as much as 4.4% on Wednesday, showing that the unconditional love of animals is immune to market sentiment. Shares are at record levels even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as much as 850 points.
Analysts are also digging the web-based retailer, which has 10 buy ratings, five holds and no sells, according to MarketWatch. Chewy, owned by closely-held PetSmart, saw sales jump 46% year-over-year in the first quarter to $1.62 billion, and gross margins expanded 50 basis points to 23%. The specialty retailer forecast second quarter revenue of between $1.62 billion and $1.64 billion, and full year sales of between $6.55 billion to $6.65 billion.
While Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) also sell pet supplies, Checkbook.org found last year that Chewy tends to have the lowest online prices, as well as a wider variety of selection for animals ranging from horses to turtles.