Insider Selling: Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) CEO Sells $3,763,500.00 in Stock

Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE:WRBY) CEO Neil Harris Blumenthal sold 150,000 shares of Warby Parker stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $3,763,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 37,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $931,315.71. This represents a 80.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Neil Harris Blumenthal also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, December 11th, Neil Harris Blumenthal sold 100,000 shares of Warby Parker stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total transaction of $3,029,000.00.

Warby Parker Trading Up 4.5%

Shares of NYSE WRBY opened at $28.29 on Friday. Warby Parker Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.63 and a 1-year high of $31.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.50. The company has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 2,828.70 and a beta of 2.05.

Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.03). Warby Parker had a net margin of 0.08% and a return on equity of 1.96%. The firm had revenue of $221.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $224.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.03) EPS. Warby Parker’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Warby Parker Inc. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warby Parker

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Warby Parker by 3.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,665,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,155,000 after buying an additional 327,830 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Warby Parker by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,303,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,426,000 after acquiring an additional 2,120,768 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Warby Parker by 51.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,605,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,133,000 after acquiring an additional 884,035 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Warby Parker by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,421,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,797,000 after purchasing an additional 205,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Warby Parker by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,201,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,292,000 after purchasing an additional 148,847 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WRBY shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Warby Parker from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Warby Parker from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Warby Parker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Warby Parker from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Warby Parker from $22.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.75.

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.