Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) Stock Price Down 6.3% on Insider Selling

Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE:WRBY) was down 6.3% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $26.40 and last traded at $26.2720. 171,730 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 3,200,242 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.04.

Specifically, CEO Neil Harris Blumenthal sold 9,200 shares of Warby Parker stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.99, for a total value of $275,908.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $933,048.88. This trade represents a 22.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Neil Harris Blumenthal sold 217,667 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.61, for a total value 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 approximately $921,226.32. The trade was a 87.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WRBY. Weiss Ratings raised Warby Parker from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Warby Parker from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Warby Parker in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Warby Parker in a report on Monday, June 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Warby Parker from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.82.

Warby Parker Stock Up 5.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 1,460.48, a PEG ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 1.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.96.

Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $242.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.44 million. Warby Parker had a return on equity of 2.30% and a net margin of 0.15%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Warby Parker Inc. will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warby Parker

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Warby Parker by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,679,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,375,726 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Warby Parker in the 4th quarter worth $46,484,000. SRS Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Warby Parker during the 4th quarter worth about $31,277,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Warby Parker by 96.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,888,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,433,000 after acquiring an additional 929,073 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Warby Parker by 71.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,078,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,298,000 after purchasing an additional 865,345 shares during the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Warby Parker

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.