Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE:WRBY) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday after Citizens Jmp upgraded the stock from a market perform rating to an outperform rating. Citizens Jmp now has a $30.00 price target on the stock. Approximately 3,388,657 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 48% from the previous session’s volume of 2,292,541 shares.The stock last traded at $25.9020 and had previously closed at $23.22.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Warby Parker from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Warby Parker in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Warby Parker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on Warby Parker from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Warby Parker from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.88.

Insider Activity at Warby Parker

In related news, CEO Neil Harris Blumenthal sold 8,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.52, for a total transaction of $231,608.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,812.16. The trade was a 20.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,411 in the last ninety days. 18.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warby Parker

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Warby Parker by 3.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,665,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,155,000 after buying an additional 327,830 shares in the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Warby Parker by 13.2% in the first quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 10,212,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194,558 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Warby Parker by 40.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,303,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,426,000 after purchasing an additional 2,120,768 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Warby Parker by 51.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,605,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,133,000 after purchasing an additional 884,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Warby Parker by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,456,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,790,000 after purchasing an additional 312,543 shares during the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warby Parker Trading Up 12.1%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $20.44 and a 200-day moving average of $22.86. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 2,631.20 and a beta of 2.06.

Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.03). Warby Parker had a return on equity of 1.96% and a net margin of 0.08%.The company had revenue of $221.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $224.49 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Warby Parker Inc. will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warby Parker Company Profile

Warby Parker Inc provides eyewear products in the United States and Canada. The company offers eyeglasses, sunglasses, light-responsive lenses, blue-light-filtering lenses, non-prescription lenses, and contact lenses. It also provides accessories, such as cases, lenses kit with anti-fog spray, pouches, and anti-fog lens spray through its retail stores, website, and mobile apps.