Wayfair (NYSE:W) Shares Up 10% – Time to Buy?

Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W) shares were up 10% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $88.78 and last traded at $89.72. 536,507 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 3,846,524 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.59.

Key Headlines Impacting Wayfair

Here are the key news stories impacting Wayfair this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wayfair opened its first smaller-format store in Columbus, Ohio, adding another physical retail touchpoint that could broaden its customer reach and support sales growth. Wayfair opens first smaller-format store in Columbus, Ohio
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced plans for a large-format store in Princeton, New Jersey, reinforcing its Northeast expansion strategy and signaling ongoing investment in omnichannel retail. Wayfair Expands Northeast Footprint with Princeton, New Jersey Store
• Positive Sentiment: Wayfair opened its first Ohio store at Polaris and highlighted grand-opening deals, which may help drive near-term traffic and raise brand visibility. Wayfair opens first Ohio store at Polaris, promises grand-opening deals
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple lifestyle/shopping features showcased low-priced Wayfair products, which can keep the retailer top-of-mind with consumers and support traffic to its site. Save 74% on the Modway Stopover lounge chair — now just $269 at Wayfair!
• Positive Sentiment: Another article highlighted Wayfair’s affordable home products for room upgrades, reinforcing the company’s value proposition for budget-conscious shoppers. 30 things from Wayfair to affordably upgrade your kid’s room from drab to fun
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of a grand opening event for the new Columbus store is supportive but mostly informational, with limited direct impact on fundamentals. Grand opening event set for new Wayfair retail store in Columbus

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on W shares. Weiss Ratings raised Wayfair from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Wayfair from $86.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Wayfair from $125.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Wayfair in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Wayfair from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.68.

Wayfair Trading Up 0.0%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $71.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.69 billion, a PE ratio of -37.84, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 3.02.

Wayfair (NYSE:W) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. Wayfair had a negative net margin of 2.41% and a negative return on equity of 2.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Wayfair Inc. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Wayfair

In other Wayfair news, Director Steven Conine sold 7,139 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.55, for a total transaction of $560,768.45. Following the transaction, the director owned 429,073 shares in the company, valued at $33,703,684.15. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 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 directly owned 111,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,024,496.02. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 463,785 shares of company stock worth $35,864,224. Company insiders own 18.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wayfair

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in W. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Wayfair by 826.0% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,817,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,648,000 after purchasing an additional 2,512,854 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wayfair in the 3rd quarter worth $108,125,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wayfair during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $117,973,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Wayfair by 197.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,557,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,673,000 after buying an additional 1,033,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in Wayfair by 351.9% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,294,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,178,000 after buying an additional 1,007,676 shares during the last quarter. 89.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Wayfair

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.