Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE:WRBY) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $15.04, but opened at $15.39. Warby Parker shares last traded at $15.05, with a volume of 73,433 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRBY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler started coverage on Warby Parker in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities raised shares of Warby Parker from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Warby Parker from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Warby Parker from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Warby Parker in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.75.

Warby Parker Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.26 and a beta of 1.82. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.81.

Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.01. Warby Parker had a negative net margin of 6.38% and a negative return on equity of 11.09%. The firm had revenue of $188.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.89 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Warby Parker Inc. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Warby Parker

In related news, CFO Steven Clive Miller sold 15,272 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total value of $198,536.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 184,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,395,263. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Warby Parker news, CEO Neil Harris Blumenthal sold 27,143 shares of Warby Parker stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total transaction of $352,859.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $158,301. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven Clive Miller sold 15,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total transaction of $198,536.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 184,251 shares in the company, valued at $2,395,263. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,178 shares of company stock worth $1,339,901 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 26.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Warby Parker

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in Warby Parker by 113.3% in the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,477,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,787,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315,672 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Warby Parker by 1,013.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,422,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295,136 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Warby Parker by 149.4% during the 1st quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,687,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011,030 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Warby Parker by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,457,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,258,000 after buying an additional 607,352 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Warby Parker by 44.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,568,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,192,000 after buying an additional 481,900 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.24% of the company’s stock.

About Warby Parker

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.