Wayfair (NYSE:W) Raised to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Wayfair from “Hold” to “Buy. Analysts overall rate the stock “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus price target of $128.57; UBS raised its target to $165 and kept a Buy rating.
• Wayfair beat third-quarter expectations, reporting earnings of $0.93 per share versus $0.80 expected and revenue of $3.42 billion versus $3.38 billion. Revenue grew 9.7% year over year.
• Wayfair expects high-single-digit revenue growth in the fourth quarter, but higher holiday advertising spending may pressure near-term profitability.

Wayfair (NYSE:W - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on W. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Wayfair from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Wayfair from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Wayfair from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Wayfair from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities assumed coverage on Wayfair in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Wayfair has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $128.57.

Wayfair Stock Performance

Wayfair stock opened at $112.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 230.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 3.10. Wayfair has a 1 year low of $55.60 and a 1 year high of $127.99. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $105.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.19.

Wayfair (NYSE:W - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.38 billion. Wayfair had a negative return on equity of 3.40% and a negative net margin of 2.49%. The company's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Wayfair will post 0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Wayfair news, CTO Fiona Tan sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.73, for a total value of $859,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 181,698 shares in the company, valued at $22,299,795.54. This represents a 3.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jon Blotner sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $60,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 115,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,846,200. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 692,070 shares of company stock valued at $74,096,044. 18.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Wayfair by 8.3% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,866,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $290,813,000 after buying an additional 296,233 shares during the period. Atreides Management LP grew its stake in shares of Wayfair by 64.3% during the 1st quarter. Atreides Management LP now owns 1,430,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,625,000 after acquiring an additional 560,133 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Wayfair by 46.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,036,531 shares of the company's stock worth $77,923,000 after acquiring an additional 328,358 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Wayfair by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 818,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,654,000 after purchasing an additional 242,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Wayfair by 1.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 310,825 shares of the company's stock worth $23,377,000 after purchasing an additional 5,586 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.67% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Wayfair

Here are the key news stories impacting Wayfair this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wayfair’s third-quarter results beat estimates: earnings were $0.93 per share versus $0.80 expected, and revenue was $3.42 billion versus $3.38 billion expected. U.S. sales grew 11.4%, with improved advertising leverage and market-share gains contributing to the performance. Wayfair Q3 Earnings Beat on U.S. Growth and Ad Cost Leverage
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised targets following the results. Notable moves included UBS to $165 with a Buy rating, Needham to $145 with a Buy rating, and Wells Fargo to $140 with an Overweight rating; Deutsche Bank lifted its target to $140 but maintained Hold. Wayfair analyst coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: CTO Fiona Tan sold 15,000 shares across November 4–5 for about $1.86 million. The sales were made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, and she retained 181,698 shares, making the transactions a less direct indicator of her near-term view of the stock. SEC Form 4 filing
• Negative Sentiment: Management expects higher holiday advertising spending in the fourth quarter. Although Wayfair forecast high-single-digit revenue growth and a 6%–7% adjusted EBITDA margin, increased marketing costs could weigh on near-term profitability. Wayfair forecasts Q4 growth and adjusted EBITDA margin

Wayfair Company Profile

Wayfair Inc is an e-commerce company that sells furniture, home furnishings and related products through digital platforms. Its selection includes furniture, décor, lighting, rugs, mattresses, kitchen and dining products, housewares, home improvement items, outdoor furnishings and other goods for residential and commercial spaces.

The company operates a portfolio of online brands and retail websites, including Wayfair, Joss & Main, AllModern, Birch Lane and Perigold. These brands are designed to serve different customer preferences, price points and areas of the home-furnishings market.

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