Royce & Associates LP Sells 158,312 Shares of Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP reduced its stake in Vera Bradley, Inc. by 8.4%, now holding approximately 1.73 million shares valued at about $3.91 million.
• Insider transactions included Director Andrew Meslow purchasing 253,094 shares at an average price of $1.88 per share, increasing his ownership significantly.
• Vera Bradley reported a net loss of ($0.36) EPS in its latest earnings announcement, missing analyst expectations of ($0.13).

Royce & Associates LP reduced its holdings in Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA - Free Report) by 8.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,735,375 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 158,312 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 6.22% of Vera Bradley worth $3,905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRA. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in Vera Bradley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vera Bradley by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 48,692 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 13,271 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in 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. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Vera Bradley by 12.9% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 67,748 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 7,747 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.88% of the company's stock.

Vera Bradley Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of VRA stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $2.01. 65,584 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 284,139. The company has a market cap of $56.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.63 and a beta of 1.78. Vera Bradley, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1.71 and a fifty-two week high of $6.99. The stock's 50 day moving average is $2.20 and its 200-day moving average is $2.53.

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $51.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $53.48 million. Vera Bradley had a negative net margin of 25.52% and a negative return on equity of 11.07%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.21) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Vera Bradley, Inc. will post -0.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vera Bradley

In other 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 purchased at an average price of $1.88 per share, with a total value of $475,816.72. Following the purchase, the director owned 300,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $564,000. This trade represents a 539.58% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 12.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Vera Bradley

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.