Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA) Short Interest Up 24.1% in April

Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 746,400 shares, an increase of 24.1% from the March 31st total of 601,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 283,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vera Bradley

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Vera Bradley during the third quarter worth $44,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vera Bradley by 73.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,174 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Vera Bradley in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Vera Bradley by 258.7% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 9,017 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 6,503 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Vera Bradley during the fourth quarter worth about $94,000. 59.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Vera Bradley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Vera Bradley Trading Up 0.5 %

Vera Bradley stock opened at $6.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12 and a beta of 1.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $6.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.24. Vera Bradley has a twelve month low of $4.60 and a twelve month high of $8.35.

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The textile maker reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $133.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $136.06 million. Vera Bradley had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 1.66%. Equities analysts predict that Vera Bradley will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Vera Bradley Company Profile

Vera Bradley, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells women's handbags, luggage and travel items, fashion and home accessories, and gifts. It operates through three segments: Vera Bradley Direct, Vera Bradley Indirect, and Pura Vida. The company offers bag products, such as totes, crossbodies, satchels, clutches, backpacks, baby bags, and lunch bags; accessories, including ID holders, lanyards, wallets, wristlets, eyewear, scarves, hair accessories, and various technology accessories; bracelets, rings, and necklaces under Pura Vida brand name; and travel products consisting of rolling luggage, cosmetics, and travel and packing accessories, as well as travel bags comprising duffel and weekend bags.