Nomura Holdings Inc. Sells 400,000 Shares of Vera Bradley, Inc. $VRA

Key Points

• Nomura Holdings Inc. has reduced its stake in Vera Bradley, Inc. by 19.4%, now holding approximately 1.66 million shares valued at $3.74 million.
• Various institutional investors have adjusted their positions in Vera Bradley, with Barclays PLC increasing its stake by 5.4% and Nuveen Asset Management LLC raising theirs by 37.5% during the last quarter.
• Vera Bradley reported a loss of ($0.36) per share in its last earnings report, missing analysts' expectations, along with a revenue of $51.65 million, which was below the forecast of $53.48 million.

Nomura Holdings Inc. decreased its holdings in Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA - Free Report) by 19.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,660,300 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 400,000 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. owned approximately 5.95% of Vera Bradley worth $3,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRA. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vera Bradley by 157.5% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 11,970 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 32,780 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vera Bradley in the 1st quarter valued at $110,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Vera Bradley by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 67,748 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 7,747 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vera Bradley by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 48,692 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 13,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Vera Bradley by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 63,129 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 3,229 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.88% of the company's stock.

Vera Bradley Stock Performance

Shares of VRA stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $2.17. The company had a trading volume of 95,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,143. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $2.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.23. Vera Bradley, Inc. has a one year low of $1.71 and a one year high of $5.99. The firm has a market cap of $60.61 million, a PE ratio of -0.69 and a beta of 1.76.

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The textile maker reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.23). Vera Bradley had a negative return on equity of 11.07% and a negative net margin of 25.52%.The company had revenue of $51.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.21) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Vera Bradley, Inc. will post -0.25 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Small Cap Consu raised shares of Vera Bradley to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Zacks Research raised shares of Vera Bradley from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Insider Transactions at Vera Bradley

In other Vera Bradley news, Director Andrew Meslow bought 253,094 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1.88 per share, for a total transaction of $475,816.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 300,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $564,000. This represents a 539.58% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 12.10% of the company's stock.

Vera Bradley Company Profile

Vera Bradley, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells women's handbags, luggage and travel items, fashion and home accessories, and gifts. It operates through three segments: Vera Bradley Direct, Vera Bradley Indirect, and Pura Vida. The company offers bag products, such as totes, crossbodies, satchels, clutches, backpacks, baby bags, and lunch bags; accessories, including ID holders, lanyards, wallets, wristlets, eyewear, scarves, hair accessories, and various technology accessories; bracelets, rings, and necklaces under Pura Vida brand name; and travel products consist of rolling luggage, cosmetics, and travel and packing accessories, as well as travel bags comprising duffel and weekend bags.