Warby Parker Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:WRBY)

Key Points

• Warby Parker saw unusually heavy options activity on Thursday, with traders buying 8,903 call options — about 132% above the normal volume.
• Insiders have been selling shares recently, including the CEO’s large pre-arranged sale, and insiders have sold 115,793 shares over the past 90 days.
• The stock rose 2.8% to $29.28, while analysts currently rate it Moderate Buy with an average price target of $29.00; recent earnings showed revenue growth but earnings below estimates.

Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE:WRBY - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders bought 8,903 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 132% compared to the typical volume of 3,839 call options.

Insider Transactions at Warby Parker

In related news, Director Bradley E. Singer sold 15,793 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.53, for a total value of $434,781.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,195.78. This trade represents a 49.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Neil Harris Blumenthal sold 75,213 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.56, for a total transaction of $1,847,231.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 50,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,232,052.40. This trade represents a 59.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,793 shares of company stock valued at $2,901,550. Company insiders own 16.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Warby Parker

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WRBY. First Horizon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Warby Parker by 96.7% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Warby Parker during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Warby Parker by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Warby Parker by 110.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Warby Parker by 5,795.3% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 2,492 shares in the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Warby Parker Stock Up 2.8%

WRBY stock traded up $0.79 during trading on Thursday, reaching $29.28. The stock had a trading volume of 693,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,048,969. Warby Parker has a one year low of $14.96 and a one year high of $31.00. The company's 50 day moving average is $23.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.27. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,444.72 and a beta of 1.95.

Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $242.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.44 million. Warby Parker had a net margin of 0.15% and a return on equity of 2.30%. The firm's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Warby Parker will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WRBY. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Warby Parker from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Warby Parker from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Warby Parker from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Warby Parker from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Warby Parker from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.00.

About Warby Parker

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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