Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Acquires 205,630 Shares of Warby Parker Inc. $WRBY

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE:WRBY) by 9.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,421,950 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 205,630 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned 2.30% of Warby Parker worth $66,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Warby Parker by 259.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Warby Parker by 400.3% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Warby Parker by 111.0% in the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Warby Parker by 39.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 3,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury purchased a new position in Warby Parker during the second quarter valued at $126,000. 93.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on WRBY. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Warby Parker from $22.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 price objective on Warby Parker in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Warby Parker from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Warby Parker from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Warby Parker from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Warby Parker currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Warby Parker news, CEO Neil Harris Blumenthal sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $3,763,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 37,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $931,315.71. This represents a 80.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joel E. Cutler sold 19,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total value of $518,431.32. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $520,200. The trade was a 49.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 308,764 shares of company stock worth $8,439,778 in the last 90 days. 18.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Warby Parker Price Performance

WRBY stock opened at $25.95 on Wednesday. Warby Parker Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.63 and a 1-year high of $31.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.44. The company has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,595.40 and a beta of 2.05.

Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $224.49 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.03) EPS. Warby Parker’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Warby Parker Inc. will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warby Parker 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.