Allen Investment Management LLC Sells 10,500 Shares of Wayfair Inc. $W

Key Points

• Allen Investment Management cut its Wayfair stake by 1.4%, selling 10,500 shares in the third quarter; it still held 738,750 shares, valued at about $75.8 million.
• Wayfair beat third-quarter estimates, reporting $0.93 earnings per share and $3.42 billion in revenue, with revenue up 9.7% year over year.
• Analysts raised several price targets after the results, while Wayfair’s outlook for higher holiday advertising spending could pressure near-term profitability.

Allen Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W - Free Report) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 738,750 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,500 shares during the quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.56% of Wayfair worth $75,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new position in shares of Wayfair during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Wayfair by 144.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 460 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wayfair during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wayfair during the 3rd quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Wayfair by 79.2% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 810 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. 89.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting 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

Insider Buying and Selling at Wayfair

In related news, CEO Niraj Shah sold 117,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.25, for a total transaction of $13,016,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 105,137 shares in the company, valued at $11,696,491.25. This represents a 52.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Steven Conine sold 117,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.25, for a total transaction of $13,016,250.00. Following the sale, the director owned 105,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,689,371.25. This represents a 52.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 692,070 shares of company stock worth $74,096,044 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 18.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on W. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Wayfair from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Wayfair from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Wayfair from $100.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Wayfair from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Wayfair from $95.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.57.

Wayfair Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE W opened at $112.08 on Friday. Wayfair Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.60 and a twelve month high of $127.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $105.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.19. The stock has a market cap of $14.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -89.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 3.10.

Wayfair (NYSE:W - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. Wayfair had a negative return on equity of 5.14% and a negative net margin of 1.21%. The company's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Wayfair Inc. will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Wayfair Profile

Wayfair Inc is an e-commerce company focused on furniture and home furnishings. Its online platform offers products for living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms, outdoor spaces and other areas of the home, including furniture, décor, lighting, rugs and housewares.

The company operates a portfolio of retail brands, including Wayfair, AllModern, Birch Lane, Joss & Main and Perigold. It serves customers primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as in select international markets.

Wayfair was founded in 2002 by Niraj Shah and Steve Conine as CSN Stores and adopted the Wayfair name in 2011.

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