Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) Stock Rated Strong-Buy in New Coverage at TD Cowen

Key Points

• TD Cowen initiated coverage of Warby Parker with a “strong-buy” rating. Overall analyst sentiment is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $30, although ratings range from Strong Buy to Sell.
• Warby Parker shares opened at $24.65, with a $2.67 billion market capitalization and a 52-week range of $14.96 to $31.00. The company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, reporting $0.04 EPS versus the $0.10 consensus and revenue of $235.51 million versus $237.98 million expected.
• Institutional investors own 93.24% of the stock, while CEO Neil Blumenthal recently sold 100,000 shares for approximately $2.77 million under a pre-arranged trading plan.

TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Friday, Zacks reports. The brokerage set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Warby Parker from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Warby Parker from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on shares of Warby Parker from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Warby Parker in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Warby Parker in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.00.

Warby Parker Stock Performance

NYSE WRBY opened at $24.65 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $25.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 352.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 1.89. Warby Parker has a fifty-two week low of $14.96 and a fifty-two week high of $31.00.

Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.06). Warby Parker had a return on equity of 3.36% and a net margin of 0.85%. The company had revenue of $235.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $237.98 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.01) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Warby Parker will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Neil Blumenthal sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.69, for a total value of $2,769,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 36,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $997,393.80. This represents a 73.52% 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. Company insiders own 16.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Warby Parker

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Warby Parker by 10.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,722,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,291,000 after buying an additional 166,235 shares in the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Warby Parker during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,949,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Warby Parker by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,377,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,027,000 after acquiring an additional 325,250 shares during the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Warby Parker by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 627,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,427,000 after acquiring an additional 40,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atreides Management LP raised its position in shares of Warby Parker by 74.8% during the 1st quarter. Atreides Management LP now owns 686,995 shares of the company's stock worth $14,475,000 after acquiring an additional 293,910 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.24% of the company's stock.

About Warby Parker

Warby Parker Inc is an optical retailer that designs, manufactures and sells prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses, contact lenses and related accessories. The company offers its products through its website, mobile applications and a growing network of retail stores, combining online shopping with in-person services such as frame fitting and eye examinations.

Founded in 2010 by Neil Blumenthal, Dave Gilboa, Andrew Hunt and Jeffrey Raider, Warby Parker was established as a direct-to-consumer eyewear company.

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