Fifth Third Bancorp Takes Position in Warby Parker Inc. $WRBY

Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE:WRBY) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 49,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,034,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Man Group plc raised its position in Warby Parker by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 25,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Warby Parker by 41.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp boosted its position in shares of Warby Parker by 96.7% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Warby Parker by 5.4% during the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 15,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Warby Parker by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Neil Harris Blumenthal sold 217,667 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.61, for a total value of $6,445,119.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,226.32. The trade was a 87.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Teresa Briggs sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 $1,268,025.02. This trade represents a 9.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 366,207 shares of company stock valued at $10,814,738. 16.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRBY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Warby Parker in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on Warby Parker in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Warby Parker from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Warby Parker from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Warby Parker in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.82.

Warby Parker Stock Performance

NYSE WRBY opened at $24.52 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $26.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.12. Warby Parker Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.96 and a 52-week high of $31.00. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 1,226.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 1.91.

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

Warby Parker Company Profile

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.