PetSmart Downgraded; Analyst Sees Slowing Sales

Fassler downgraded the company from "Buy" to "Neutral" but kept a $25 price target.

For the first quarter, PetSmart said on Wednesday its same-store sales grew 3.9 percent, helping drive profit growth of 12 percent from last year.

The company earned $46.3 million, or 37 cents per share, on revenue of $1.33 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected earnings of 30 cents per share on revenue of $1.35 billion.

PetSmart said it expected a full-year profit between $1.42 and $1.52 per share and low-single-digit same-store growth.

Goldman expects 1.4 percent same-store growth for the year and earnings of $1.52 per share.

PetSmart shares tumbled $1.83, or 8.2 percent, to $20.47 in morning trading.