Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Key Points

• Vera Bradley has been upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a shift in analysts' sentiment towards the stock.
• Despite recent upgrades, Vera Bradley maintains a consensus rating of "Reduce," with one analyst issuing a "Sell" rating.
• In its latest earnings report, Vera Bradley beat expectations with earnings of ($0.02) per share, although revenue fell short at $70.86 million against projections.

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on VRA. Zacks Research upgraded Vera Bradley from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Small Cap Consu upgraded Vera Bradley to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vera Bradley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

Vera Bradley Price Performance

Shares of Vera Bradley stock opened at $2.13 on Friday. Vera Bradley has a twelve month low of $1.71 and a twelve month high of $5.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.51 million, a P/E ratio of -0.61 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business's fifty day moving average price is $2.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.09.

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The textile maker reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.13. Vera Bradley had a negative return on equity of 15.27% and a negative net margin of 32.31%.The firm had revenue of $70.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $78.52 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vera Bradley will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Vera Bradley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRA. Peapod Lane Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Vera Bradley by 87.6% during the first quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC now owns 870,156 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,958,000 after acquiring an additional 406,333 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Vera Bradley during the second quarter worth about $363,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Vera Bradley by 224.4% during the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 185,035 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 127,994 shares during the last quarter. RBF Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vera Bradley during the second quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Vera Bradley during the second quarter worth about $126,000. 59.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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