Weiss Ratings Reiterates "Sell (D-)" Rating for Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reiterated a "Sell (D-)" rating for Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA), indicating continued concerns about the company's performance.
• Despite a recent upgrade from other analysts to a "hold" rating, the stock's current consensus rating remains as "Reduce."
• Vera Bradley reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.02), exceeding estimates but generated revenue lower than anticipated at $70.86 million.

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating reiterated by stock analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Small Cap Consu upgraded Vera Bradley to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vera Bradley from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Vera Bradley from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

Vera Bradley Stock Down 1.3%

VRA traded down $0.03 on Friday, reaching $2.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 147,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,356. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $2.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 2.43. Vera Bradley has a fifty-two week low of $1.71 and a fifty-two week high of $5.99.

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 11th. The textile maker reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $70.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.52 million. Vera Bradley had a negative return on equity of 15.27% and a negative net margin of 32.31%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Vera Bradley will post -0.25 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vera Bradley

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Williams & Novak LLC raised its stake in shares of Vera Bradley by 48.3% during the second quarter. Williams & Novak LLC now owns 20,170 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 6,565 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vera Bradley by 5.7% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 138,083 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 7,478 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Vera Bradley by 12.9% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 67,748 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 7,747 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Vera Bradley during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. purchased a new position in Vera Bradley in the second quarter worth $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.88% of the company's stock.

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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