First Eagle Investment Management LLC Reduces Position in Warby Parker Inc. $WRBY

Key Points

• First Eagle Investment Management cut its Warby Parker stake by 35.8% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 352,941 shares worth about $7.69 million. Despite the sale, institutional investors still own a very large portion of the company, at 93.24%.
• Warby Parker shares were down 6.4% in Wednesday trading, opening at $26.96. The stock has traded between $14.96 and $31.00 over the past year, with a market cap of $2.89 billion.
• The company recently reported mixed quarterly results: revenue of $242.45 million topped estimates and rose 8.4% year over year, but earnings per share of $0.03 missed expectations of $0.11. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $29.00.

First Eagle Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE:WRBY - Free Report) by 35.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 352,941 shares of the company's stock after selling 196,700 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 0.33% of Warby Parker worth $7,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Warby Parker by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,303,341 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,426,000 after purchasing an additional 2,120,768 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Warby Parker by 96.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,888,817 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,433,000 after purchasing an additional 929,073 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Warby Parker during the 3rd quarter valued at about $19,993,000. Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Warby Parker during the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,653,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Warby Parker by 1,118.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 370,409 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,216,000 after purchasing an additional 340,002 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.24% of the company's stock.

Warby Parker Trading Down 6.4%

Shares of NYSE:WRBY opened at $26.96 on Wednesday. Warby Parker Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.96 and a 12-month high of $31.00. The company has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 1,348.62 and a beta of 1.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $23.57 and a 200 day moving average of $23.22.

Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.08). Warby Parker had a return on equity of 2.30% and a net margin of 0.15%.The business had revenue of $242.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Warby Parker Inc. will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WRBY shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Warby Parker from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Warby Parker from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Warby Parker from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Warby Parker from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Warby Parker from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.00.

Insider Activity at Warby Parker

In other Warby Parker news, Director Bradley E. Singer sold 15,793 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.53, for a total value of $434,781.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,026 shares in the company, valued at $441,195.78. This represents a 49.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Neil Harris Blumenthal sold 75,213 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.56, for a total value of $1,847,231.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 50,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,232,052.40. The trade was a 59.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 115,793 shares of company stock valued at $2,901,550 over the last 90 days. 16.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Warby Parker Profile

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.

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