Ardsley Advisory Partners LP Buys New Position in Warby Parker Inc. $WRBY

Ardsley Advisory Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE:WRBY) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 26,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $577,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Warby Parker by 40.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,303,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,426,000 after acquiring an additional 2,120,768 shares in the last quarter. Udine Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Warby Parker in the fourth quarter worth $1,284,000. Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Warby Parker in the third quarter worth $9,653,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Warby Parker by 3.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,665,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,155,000 after purchasing an additional 327,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Warby Parker in the third quarter worth $2,184,000. Institutional investors own 93.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Youngme E. Moon sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.53, for a total transaction of $265,300.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $691,398.33. This represents a 27.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Neil Harris Blumenthal sold 75,213 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.56, for a total transaction of $1,847,231.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 50,165 shares in the company, valued at $1,232,052.40. This trade represents a 59.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 198,040 shares of company stock worth $5,340,326 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 16.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on WRBY. Weiss Ratings upgraded Warby Parker from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Warby Parker from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Warby Parker from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Warby Parker from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Warby Parker in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.50.

Warby Parker Trading Down 3.3%

WRBY opened at $24.31 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.45. The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,215.91 and a beta of 1.96. Warby Parker Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.96 and a 12-month high of $31.00.

Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $239.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. Warby Parker’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Warby Parker Inc. will post 0.19 EPS for the current year.

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.