Rational Advisors Inc. Purchases New Position in Warby Parker Inc. $WRBY

Key Points

• Rational Advisors Inc. opened a new position in Warby Parker during the fourth quarter, buying 43,500 shares worth about $948,000.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with funds like Vanguard and JPMorgan increasing their stakes; overall, institutional investors hold 93.24% of Warby Parker’s shares.
• Analysts are generally bullish on WRBY, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.50, while the stock recently traded at $25.09 after reporting quarterly EPS that missed estimates but revenue that topped expectations.

Rational Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE:WRBY - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 43,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $948,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Warby Parker by 3.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,665,529 shares of the company's stock valued at $294,155,000 after acquiring an additional 327,830 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Warby Parker by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,303,341 shares of the company's stock worth $201,426,000 after purchasing an additional 2,120,768 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Warby Parker by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,297,123 shares of the company's stock worth $50,064,000 after purchasing an additional 11,736 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Warby Parker by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,060,103 shares of the company's stock worth $56,818,000 after purchasing an additional 189,758 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Warby Parker by 96.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,888,817 shares of the company's stock worth $34,433,000 after purchasing an additional 929,073 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on WRBY. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Warby Parker in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Warby Parker from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Warby Parker from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Warby Parker from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Warby Parker in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warby Parker

In other news, Director Bradley E. Singer sold 20,167 shares of Warby Parker stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.51, for a total transaction of $574,961.17. Following the transaction, the director owned 104,833 shares in the company, valued at $2,988,788.83. This trade represents a 16.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Neil Harris Blumenthal sold 75,213 shares of Warby Parker stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.56, for a total transaction of $1,847,231.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 50,165 shares in the company, valued at $1,232,052.40. This represents a 59.99% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 188,040 shares of company stock worth $5,075,026 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 16.80% of the company's stock.

Warby Parker Price Performance

Shares of Warby Parker stock opened at $25.09 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $23.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 1,254.88 and a beta of 1.96. Warby Parker Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.96 and a 1-year high of $31.00.

Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $242.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.44 million. Warby Parker had a return on equity of 2.30% and a net margin of 0.15%.The company's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Warby Parker Inc. will post 0.19 EPS for the current year.

Warby Parker Company 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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