Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) Shares Down 6.6% – Time to Sell?

Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE:WRBY)’s share price was down 6.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $25.52 and last traded at $25.4910. Approximately 1,019,058 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 3,530,721 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Warby Parker from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Warby Parker from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Warby Parker from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Warby Parker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 target price on shares of Warby Parker in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Warby Parker presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.38.

Warby Parker Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,533.50 and a beta of 2.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $24.25 and its 200 day moving average is $24.04.

Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $221.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $224.49 million. Warby Parker had a return on equity of 1.96% and a net margin of 0.08%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.03) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Warby Parker Inc. will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Youngme E. Moon sold 38,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.07, for a total value of $1,128,846.24. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $786,546.99. This trade represents a 58.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Neil Harris Blumenthal sold 50,000 shares of Warby Parker stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.08, for a total transaction of $1,354,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 37,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,005,182.52. This trade represents a 57.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 359,424 shares of company stock valued at $9,813,571. 18.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Warby Parker

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRBY. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Warby Parker by 101.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 171,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,122,000 after purchasing an additional 86,053 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Warby Parker by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 52,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $961,000 after buying an additional 2,297 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Warby Parker by 96.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,888,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,433,000 after buying an additional 929,073 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in Warby Parker in the first quarter valued at $252,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Warby Parker by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 257,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,685,000 after acquiring an additional 38,395 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.