Mizuho Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Wayfair (NYSE:W) Stock Price

Key Points

• Mizuho cut its price target on Wayfair from $110 to $90 but kept an "outperform" rating; the consensus analyst price target is about $96.33 with an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Insider sales were large: CEO Niraj Shah and co‑founder Steven Conine each sold ~113k shares under 10b5‑1 plans, with insiders offloading 703,785 shares (~$54M) over the last three months and insider ownership at 18.44%.
• Q1 results showed EPS of $0.26 (in line) and revenue of $2.93B (beat, +7.4% YoY), but Wayfair remains unprofitable (net margin -2.41%, ROE -2.20%); shares traded around $66.24, well below the 52‑week high.

Wayfair (NYSE:W - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by analysts at Mizuho from $110.00 to $90.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Mizuho's price objective indicates a potential upside of 35.87% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Wayfair from $125.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wedbush cut their target price on Wayfair from $100.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Wayfair from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Wayfair from $120.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Wayfair from $135.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.33.

Wayfair Price Performance

Shares of Wayfair stock opened at $66.24 on Friday. Wayfair has a 52-week low of $30.85 and a 52-week high of $119.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a PE ratio of -28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 3.02. The company's fifty day moving average price is $74.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.26.

Wayfair (NYSE:W - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26. Wayfair had a negative net margin of 2.41% and a negative return on equity of 2.20%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Wayfair will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Wayfair

In other news, CEO Niraj Shah sold 113,863 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.49, for a total transaction of $8,823,243.87. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 435,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,729,382.26. This represents a 20.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Steven Conine sold 112,861 shares of Wayfair stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.50, for a total value of $8,746,727.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 436,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,806,430. This represents a 20.55% 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 703,785 shares of company stock worth $54,004,173 over the last three months. 18.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wayfair

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Wayfair by 46.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,036,531 shares of the company's stock worth $77,923,000 after purchasing an additional 328,358 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Wayfair by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the company's stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Wayfair by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 203,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,328,000 after buying an additional 7,200 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Wayfair by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 220,448 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,580,000 after buying an additional 42,286 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Wayfair by 1.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 310,825 shares of the company's stock worth $23,377,000 after acquiring an additional 5,586 shares during the last quarter. 89.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wayfair Company Profile

Wayfair Inc NYSE: W is an e-commerce company focused on home furnishings and décor. Through its platform, Wayfair offers a broad assortment of furniture, lighting, home textiles, kitchenware and decorative accessories. The company's portfolio includes flagship sites such as Wayfair.com, as well as specialty retail brands like Joss & Main, AllModern, Birch Lane and Perigold, each catering to distinct design styles and price points.

Founded in 2002 by Niraj Shah and Steve Conine under the name CSN Stores, the business rebranded as Wayfair in 2011 and went public in 2014.

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