Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $17.18, but opened at $17.85. Victoria’s Secret & Co. shares last traded at $17.33, with a volume of 548,357 shares traded.

Specifically, major shareholder International Pte Ltd Bbrc acquired 542,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.32 per share, for a total transaction of $9,387,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 8,695,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,597,729.08. This represents a 6.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VSCO. UBS Group lowered their target price on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $47.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $40.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $35.00 to $19.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $46.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Victoria’s Secret & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.73.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $32.27 and a 200-day moving average of $32.36.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.30. Victoria’s Secret & Co. had a return on equity of 44.74% and a net margin of 2.47%. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Victoria’s Secret & Co. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Victoria’s Secret & Co.

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSCO. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 146.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,757,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,856,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636,602 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 481.5% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,956,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,049,000 after buying an additional 1,620,256 shares during the last quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,861,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,693,000. Finally, SRS Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,011,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.29% of the company’s stock.

About Victoria’s Secret & Co.

Victoria’s Secret & Co operates as a lingerie, clothing and beauty retailer. It offers bras, panties, lingerie, pajamas, sleep, sport and swim apparel, and beauty products. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Reynoldsburg, OH.