Insider Buying: Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) Director Purchases $50,200.00 in Stock

Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA) Director Ivan Brockman bought 10,000 shares of Vera Bradley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.02 per share, for a total transaction of $50,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,750. This trade represents a 400.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Ivan Brockman also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, September 25th, Ivan Brockman purchased 2,500 shares of Vera Bradley stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.00 per share, with a total value of $10,000.00.

Vera Bradley Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRA opened at $5.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $147.47 million, a P/E ratio of -13.89 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.69. Vera Bradley, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1.39 and a 1 year high of $5.32.

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 15th. The textile maker reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $71.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.95 million. Vera Bradley had a negative return on equity of 3.80% and a negative net margin of 3.66%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Vera Bradley, Inc. will post -0.22 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on VRA. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vera Bradley in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Vera Bradley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vera Bradley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vera Bradley

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vera Bradley in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,686,000. Saba Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Vera Bradley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $916,000. Impala Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vera Bradley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $976,000. Luxor Capital Group LP purchased a new position in Vera Bradley in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $610,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Vera Bradley by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,038,807 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,283,000 after buying an additional 249,161 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.88% of the company’s stock.

Vera Bradley Company Profile

Vera Bradley, Inc is a lifestyle company that designs and markets handbags, travel items, accessories, gifts and related products. Its namesake Vera Bradley brand is known for colorful, patterned products, including bags, wallets, apparel, home goods and other accessories.

The company also operates the Pura Vida brand, which offers jewelry, bracelets and lifestyle accessories. Pura Vida products are sold through the brand’s digital channels, retail locations and wholesale partners, while Vera Bradley products are distributed through the company’s website, branded stores, outlet stores and third-party retailers.

Vera Bradley was founded in 1982 by Barbara Baekgaard and Patricia Miller and is headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana.