Wayfair Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:W)

Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 29,783 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 86% compared to the typical daily volume of 15,990 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Wayfair from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $47.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of Wayfair in a report on Friday, February 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Wayfair from $76.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Wayfair and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Wayfair from $47.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.81.

Wayfair Stock Performance

Shares of W traded up $1.77 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.84. The stock had a trading volume of 2,876,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,198,929. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.97 and a beta of 3.44. Wayfair has a 12 month low of $29.68 and a 12 month high of $76.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.74 and a 200 day moving average of $45.72.

Wayfair (NYSE:W) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.96) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Wayfair will post -2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jon Blotner sold 5,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.83, for a total transaction of $242,803.27. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,479,814.17. The trade was a 8.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Steven Conine sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.75, for a total transaction of $1,372,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 602,573 shares in the company, valued at $27,567,714.75. The trade was a 4.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 133,189 shares of company stock valued at $6,183,193 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 26.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wayfair

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of W. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wayfair by 18.3% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 1,479 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Wayfair by 0.7% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 178,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Wayfair by 35.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 974,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,734,000 after purchasing an additional 253,681 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in Wayfair during the third quarter valued at $1,070,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its position in Wayfair by 83.1% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 36,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 16,394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.67% of the company’s stock.

About Wayfair

Wayfair Inc provides e-commerce business in the United States and internationally. The company offers approximately thirty million products for the home sector. It offers online selections of furniture, décor, housewares, and home improvement products through its sites consisting of Wayfair, Joss & Main, AllModern, Birch Lane, Perigold, and Wayfair Professional.