How much a stock's price changes over time is important for most investors, since price performance can both impact your investment portfolio and help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.

Another factor that can influence investors is FOMO, or the fear of missing out, especially with tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in Zoetis (ZTS) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to ZTS for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

Zoetis' Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at Zoetis' main business drivers.

Parsippany, NJ-based Zoetis Inc. came into existence following Pfizer’s decision to spin off its animal health business. The entity started trading on the NYSE on Feb 1, 2013, under the name Zoetis. The company is a leader in the animal health space, which focuses on livestock and companion animals in eight major product categories: vaccines, anti-infectives, parasiticides, dermatology, other pharmaceutical products, pain and sedation, medicated feed additives and animal health diagnostics. Zoetis has a diversified business, which caters to eight core species — cattle, swine, poultry, fish and sheep (collectively, livestock) and dogs, cats and horses (collectively, companion animals).

The outstanding growth rate in the companion animal medicines, vaccines and diagnostics sector is being driven by economic development, related increases in disposable income and a rise in pet ownership and spending on pet care.

Zoetis has been working on strengthening its product portfolio through acquisitions and deals. In 2023, the company acquired two privately held research and development stage animal health biopharmaceutical companies, PetMedix Ltd. and adivo GmbH. PetMedix develops antibody-based therapeutics for companion animals, which is expected to strengthen Zoetis’ companion animal products portfolio.

Zoetis has consolidated its four-region structure into a two-region structure, namely the United States and International. Total revenues grew 6% year over year to $8.54 billion in 2023. The United States contributed 53% of total revenues in 2023 while international revenues contributed the rest.

In 2023, Zoetis’ two top-selling products and product lines were Simparica/Simparica Trio and Apoquel/Apoquel Chewable, contributing approximately 13% and 10%, respectively, of its revenues.

Bottom Line

While anyone can invest, building a lucrative investment portfolio takes research, patience, and a little bit of risk. If you had invested in Zoetis ten years ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.

A $1000 investment made in September 2014 would be worth $5,294.97, or a gain of 429.50%, as of September 25, 2024, according to our calculations. This return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.

In comparison, the S&P 500 gained 186.89% and the price of gold went up 109.62% over the same time frame.

Analysts are forecasting more upside for ZTS too. Zoetis’ second-quarter results beat earnings and revenue estimates, driven by increased companion animal product sales. It has an innovative pet care parasiticides portfolio, including Simparica Trio and key dermatology products, which are maintaining momentum for Zoetis. The strong uptake of Librela and Solensia in Europe, its new monoclonal antibody therapies for osteoarthritis pain in dogs and cats, has boosted sales. The launch of Librela in the U.S. market is fueling growth. It announced a 15% hike in dividend payments from the quarterly rate paid in 2023, starting first-quarter 2024. However, Zoetis had earlier faced supply challenges which affected demand. Despite constraints being eased out, a similar situation will restrain growth. Zoetis also faces stiff competition from other prominent players in the market. Shares have outperformed the industry in the past year.
Shares have gained 6.36% over the past four weeks and there have been 9 higher earnings estimate revisions for fiscal 2024 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Zoetis Inc. (ZTS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research