Simplify Asset Management Inc. Sells 109,512 Shares of Warby Parker Inc. $WRBY

Simplify Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE:WRBY) by 27.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 290,831 shares of the company’s stock after selling 109,512 shares during the quarter. Warby Parker accounts for about 0.1% of Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Warby Parker were worth $6,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WRBY. Man Group plc increased its stake in Warby Parker by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 25,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Warby Parker by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its position in shares of Warby Parker by 96.7% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in shares of Warby Parker by 4.6% in the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 16,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Warby Parker by 5.4% in the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 15,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Warby Parker

In other news, CEO Neil Harris Blumenthal sold 217,667 shares of Warby Parker stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.61, for a total transaction of $6,445,119.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $921,226.32. The trade was a 87.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bradley E. Singer sold 4,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.01, for a total value of $140,205.33. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,901,000. This trade represents a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 457,007 shares of company stock worth $13,005,598 in the last quarter. 16.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Warby Parker Price Performance

Warby Parker stock opened at $29.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,459.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 1.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.92. Warby Parker Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.96 and a 1 year high of $31.00.

Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.08). Warby Parker had a return on equity of 2.30% and a net margin of 0.15%.The firm had revenue of $242.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Warby Parker’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Warby Parker Inc. will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WRBY. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Warby Parker from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Warby Parker in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Warby Parker in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Warby Parker from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Warby Parker in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.82.

Warby Parker Company Profile

Warby Parker, Inc (NYSE: WRBY) is a U.S.-based eyewear company that designs, manufactures and sells prescription glasses, sunglasses and contact lenses through a direct-to-consumer model. Since its founding, the company has combined online and brick-and-mortar channels to streamline the customer experience, offering features such as virtual try-on technology and a home try-on program that allows consumers to sample frames before purchase.

Established in 2010 by Wharton graduates Neil Blumenthal, Dave Gilboa, Andrew Hunt and Jeffrey Raider, Warby Parker set out to disrupt the traditional optical market by controlling the entire supply chain—from frame design and lens production to warehousing and distribution.