Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $11.65 Million Stake in Warby Parker Inc. $WRBY

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its holdings in Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE:WRBY) by 65.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 552,836 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,031,989 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.52% of Warby Parker worth $11,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Warby Parker during the 1st quarter worth about $917,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Warby Parker by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 98,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,075,000 after acquiring an additional 18,674 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Warby Parker by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 6,581 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Warby Parker by 10.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,722,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,291,000 after acquiring an additional 166,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Warby Parker by 110.7% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warby Parker Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE WRBY opened at $26.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,333.77, a P/E/G ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.91. Warby Parker Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.96 and a 12 month high of $31.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.35 and a 200-day moving average of $25.10.

Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Warby Parker Inc. will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on WRBY. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Warby Parker in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Warby Parker from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Warby Parker from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Warby Parker from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Warby Parker in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Warby Parker currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.82.

Insider Activity at Warby Parker

In other news, CEO Neil Harris Blumenthal sold 217,667 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.61, for a total value of $6,445,119.87. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $921,226.32. This represents a 87.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Youngme E. Moon sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.53, for a total transaction of $265,300.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $691,398.33. This represents a 27.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 366,207 shares of company stock valued at $10,814,738 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 16.80% of the company’s stock.

Warby Parker 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.