Virtu Financial LLC Invests $785,000 in Warby Parker Inc. $WRBY

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE:WRBY) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 36,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $785,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Warby Parker by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,665,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,155,000 after acquiring an additional 327,830 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Warby Parker by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,679,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,375,726 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Warby Parker by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,594,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,527,000 after purchasing an additional 381,071 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Warby Parker by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,408,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,484,000 after purchasing an additional 202,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Warby Parker by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,297,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,064,000 after purchasing an additional 11,736 shares in the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WRBY. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Warby Parker in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Warby Parker in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Warby Parker from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Warby Parker from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Warby Parker from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Warby Parker currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.50.

Warby Parker Stock Up 3.8%

WRBY stock opened at $26.95 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $24.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.61. Warby Parker Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.96 and a 12 month high of $31.00. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,348.32 and a beta of 1.96.

Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.08). Warby Parker had a net margin of 0.15% and a return on equity of 2.30%. The business had revenue of $242.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Warby Parker Inc. will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warby Parker

In other Warby Parker news, Director Bradley E. Singer sold 20,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.51, for a total value of $574,961.17. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 104,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,988,788.83. The trade was a 16.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Teresa Briggs sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.94, for a total value of $129,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 48,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,268,025.02. This trade represents a 9.28% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 203,040 shares of company stock valued at $5,470,026. Corporate insiders own 16.80% of the company’s stock.

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.