01:44 PM EST, 12/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Petco Health & Wellness' (WOOF) new Chief Executive Joel Anderson is focusing on improving retail fundamentals, or "blocking and tackling," to establish a stronger, more profitable platform for growth in 2026, Wedbush said in a note Friday.

The company grew slightly faster than the overall pet market in Q3 and has the potential to gain market share because it differentiates itself with services like veterinary care and grooming, which are difficult for online competitors to replicate, according to the firm.

Petco's new inventory replenishment system is leading to improvements in in-stock rates for consumables and its plans to introduce innovations in hard goods merchandising in 2025 are expected to help drive share gains, Wedbush added.

"[Petco] expects to test sales growth strategies in 2025, but not accelerate marketing or other growth drivers until 2026 when it has its operations in better shape," analysts said in the note.

Wedbush has an outperform rating on Petco's stock with a price target of $6.

Petco shares were up more than 3% in recent trading.

Price: 4.07, Change: +0.14, Percent Change: +3.44