AQR Arbitrage LLC Has $7.36 Million Holdings in Wayfair Inc. $W

Key Points

• AQR Arbitrage LLC significantly reduced its stake in Wayfair Inc. by 43.5%, selling 177,138 shares and retaining approximately 229,914 shares worth $7.36 million.
• Several institutional investors made notable moves in Wayfair's stock during the first quarter, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its holdings by 85.8%, and Caitong International Asset Management raising its stake by over 15,000%.
• Wayfair's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $0.87 EPS against a consensus estimate of $0.33, along with revenues of $3.27 billion, reflecting a 5% increase year-over-year.

AQR Arbitrage LLC trimmed its stake in Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W - Free Report) by 43.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 229,914 shares of the company's stock after selling 177,138 shares during the period. AQR Arbitrage LLC owned about 0.18% of Wayfair worth $7,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in Wayfair by 681.8% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 5,462,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,969,000 after acquiring an additional 4,763,944 shares during the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Wayfair by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 2,800,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,096,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400,000 shares during the last quarter. Beck Bode LLC bought a new position in Wayfair in the first quarter valued at about $13,322,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wayfair by 18,338.6% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 308,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,881,000 after acquiring an additional 306,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wayfair by 111.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 524,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,786,000 after acquiring an additional 276,471 shares during the last quarter. 89.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on W shares. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Wayfair from $40.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Loop Capital reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Wayfair in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Wayfair from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Wayfair in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Wayfair in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wayfair currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wayfair

In related news, CEO Niraj Shah sold 85,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.07, for a total value of $6,805,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 459,137 shares in the company, valued at $36,763,099.59. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Conine sold 85,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.07, for a total value of $6,805,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 459,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,757,975.11. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,240,204 shares of company stock valued at $81,706,986 over the last 90 days. 21.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wayfair Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE W traded down $1.90 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $87.71. 2,210,616 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,090,124. Wayfair Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.41 and a 12 month high of $90.47. The company's 50 day moving average price is $67.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a PE ratio of -36.56 and a beta of 2.95.

Wayfair (NYSE:W - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Wayfair Inc. will post -2.54 EPS for the current year.

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.