Warby Parker Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:WRBY)

Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE:WRBY) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 2,533 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 346% compared to the typical daily volume of 568 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Neil Harris Blumenthal sold 50,000 shares of Warby Parker stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.65, for a total value of $1,182,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,177 shares in the company, valued at $287,986.05. The trade was a 80.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven Clive Miller sold 14,853 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.61, for a total transaction of $335,826.33. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 189,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,276,591.06. This trade represents a 7.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 108,032 shares of company stock worth $2,503,303 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 26.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Warby Parker

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WRBY. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Warby Parker by 610.3% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 91,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 78,702 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in Warby Parker by 113.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,477,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,787,000 after buying an additional 1,315,672 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Warby Parker in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,223,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in Warby Parker during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,465,000. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Warby Parker by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 806,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,952,000 after acquiring an additional 246,011 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRBY has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Warby Parker from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JMP Securities raised Warby Parker from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Warby Parker from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Warby Parker from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Warby Parker from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Warby Parker Stock Performance

Shares of WRBY stock opened at $23.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -87.52 and a beta of 1.93. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.01. Warby Parker has a fifty-two week low of $11.35 and a fifty-two week high of $24.71.

About Warby Parker

Warby Parker Inc provides eyewear products in the United States and Canada. The company offers eyeglasses, sunglasses, light-responsive lenses, blue-light-filtering lenses, non-prescription lenses, and contact lenses. It also provides accessories, such as cases, lenses kit with anti-fog spray, pouches, and anti-fog lens spray through its retail stores, website, and mobile apps.