Insider Buying: Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) Director Purchases 50,000 Shares of Stock

Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA) Director Andrew Meslow purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1.93 per share, for a total transaction of $96,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 600,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,000. This represents a 9.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Andrew Meslow also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, December 12th, Andrew Meslow purchased 250,000 shares of Vera Bradley stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.98 per share, for a total transaction of $495,000.00.

Vera Bradley Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRA traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $1.83. 1,111,567 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 429,149. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.21. The company has a market capitalization of $51.15 million, a P/E ratio of -0.52 and a beta of 1.74. Vera Bradley, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1.39 and a 52-week high of $4.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The textile maker reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $62.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.69 million. Vera Bradley had a negative return on equity of 18.30% and a negative net margin of 34.23%.During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.27) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Vera Bradley, Inc. will post -0.25 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vera Bradley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Vera Bradley from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 26th. Finally, Small Cap Consu raised Vera Bradley to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vera Bradley presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Institutional Trading of Vera Bradley

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Vera Bradley during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Vera Bradley by 15.2% in the third quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 1,846,432 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $3,711,000 after purchasing an additional 243,900 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in Vera Bradley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $121,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Vera Bradley by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 542,579 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,091,000 after buying an additional 96,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Vera Bradley during the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.88% of the company’s stock.

Vera Bradley Company Profile

Vera Bradley, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells women’s handbags, luggage and travel items, fashion and home accessories, and gifts. It operates through three segments: Vera Bradley Direct, Vera Bradley Indirect, and Pura Vida. The company offers bag products, such as totes, crossbodies, satchels, clutches, backpacks, baby bags, and lunch bags; accessories, including ID holders, lanyards, wallets, wristlets, eyewear, scarves, hair accessories, and various technology accessories; bracelets, rings, and necklaces under Pura Vida brand name; and travel products consist of rolling luggage, cosmetics, and travel and packing accessories, as well as travel bags comprising duffel and weekend bags.