William Blair Upgrades Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) to “Outperform”

William Blair upgraded shares of Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports.

WRBY has been the subject of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Warby Parker from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Warby Parker from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, October 21st. BTIG Research raised their target price on Warby Parker from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Warby Parker from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Warby Parker in a research report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.18.

Warby Parker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WRBY traded up $0.55 during trading on Thursday, reaching $19.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,306,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,408,886. Warby Parker has a 52 week low of $9.83 and a 52 week high of $19.86. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $15.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.50. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of -49.79 and a beta of 1.80.

Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $188.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.89 million. Warby Parker had a negative return on equity of 11.09% and a negative net margin of 6.38%. Equities analysts anticipate that Warby Parker will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Bradley E. Singer acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.00 per share, with a total value of $650,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,300,000. The trade was a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Neil Harris Blumenthal sold 27,143 shares of Warby Parker stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total value of $352,859.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,301. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bradley E. Singer bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.00 per share, for a total transaction of $650,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,000. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 99,178 shares of company stock worth $1,339,901. Insiders own 26.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warby Parker

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Warby Parker by 77.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 42,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 18,514 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in shares of Warby Parker in the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in Warby Parker by 3.2% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,555,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,735,000 after acquiring an additional 78,295 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Warby Parker by 4.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 466,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,617,000 after acquiring an additional 21,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Warby Parker during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $372,000. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.