Wayfair (NYSE:W) Trading Up 8.7% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Wayfair shares jumped 8.7% on Wednesday, trading as high as $61.32 after closing at $57.40 the prior session. Trading volume was well below average, with about 887,294 shares changing hands.
• Recent earnings were solid: Wayfair matched analysts’ EPS estimate at $0.26 and posted revenue of $2.93 billion, topping expectations. Revenue rose 7.4% year over year, though profitability remained weak with negative net margin and ROE.
• Analysts remain cautious but mostly positive, with several firms trimming price targets recently. The stock still carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $99.89.

Shares of Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W - Get Free Report) were up 8.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $61.32 and last traded at $62.41. Approximately 887,294 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 3,803,191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on W shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Wayfair from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Wayfair from $100.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Wayfair in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Wayfair in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Wayfair from $92.00 to $76.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.89.

Wayfair Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $72.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.69. The company has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.28, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 3.02.

Wayfair (NYSE:W - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.89 billion. Wayfair had a negative net margin of 2.41% and a negative return on equity of 2.20%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Wayfair Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wayfair

In related news, Director Steven Conine sold 7,139 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.55, for a total value of $560,768.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 429,073 shares in the company, valued at $33,703,684.15. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jon Blotner sold 4,790 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.19, for a total transaction of $345,790.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 111,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,024,496.02. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 703,785 shares of company stock worth $54,004,173. Insiders own 18.44% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Wayfair

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Wayfair by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,457,158 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,351,237,000 after buying an additional 82,584 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Wayfair by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,634,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $967,426,000 after buying an additional 72,707 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Wayfair by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,407,325 shares of the company's stock valued at $542,950,000 after buying an additional 180,558 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Wayfair by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,866,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $290,813,000 after buying an additional 296,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Wayfair by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,825,654 shares of the company's stock worth $283,724,000 after purchasing an additional 8,598 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.67% of the company's stock.

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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