Bares Capital Management Inc. Reduces Position in Wayfair Inc. $W

Key Points

• Bares Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Wayfair Inc. by 17.9%, selling 173,288 shares, and now owns 795,061 shares, accounting for 2.8% of its investment portfolio.
• Wayfair's recently released earnings showed an EPS of $0.87, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $3.27 billion, a 5% increase year-over-year.
• Insider trading activity included sales by CEO Niraj Shah and insider Steven Conine, each selling 85,000 shares at an average price of $80.07, reducing their holdings by 15.62%.

Bares Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W - Free Report) by 17.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 795,061 shares of the company's stock after selling 173,288 shares during the period. Wayfair comprises about 2.8% of Bares Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Bares Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.63% of Wayfair worth $25,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of W. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Wayfair by 100.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Beck Bode LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wayfair during the first quarter valued at about $13,322,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Wayfair by 18,338.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Wayfair by 195.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 412,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,260,000 after acquiring an additional 272,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wayfair during the fourth quarter valued at about $8,292,000. 89.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wayfair from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Wayfair from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Wayfair from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Wayfair from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Wayfair from $40.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.19.

Wayfair Trading Up 8.2%

NYSE W traded up $6.81 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $89.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,514,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,180,693. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.39. Wayfair Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.41 and a 52 week high of $90.05. The stock has a market cap of $11.62 billion, a PE ratio of -37.34 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Wayfair Inc. will post -2.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Steven Conine sold 85,000 shares of Wayfair stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.07, for a total transaction of $6,805,950.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 459,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,757,975.11. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Niraj Shah sold 85,000 shares of Wayfair stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 459,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,763,099.59. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,240,204 shares of company stock worth $81,706,986. Corporate insiders own 21.91% of the company's stock.

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.