National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $25.60, but opened at $23.28. National Vision shares last traded at $23.4120, with a volume of 309,367 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EYE. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of National Vision in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded National Vision from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 18th. Barclays reduced their price target on National Vision from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $27.00 price target on National Vision and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Roth Capital started coverage on National Vision in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, National Vision presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.73.

National Vision Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of -141.29, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.81 and a 200 day moving average of $22.77.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $486.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $469.21 million. National Vision had a positive return on equity of 3.56% and a negative net margin of 0.75%.National Vision’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at National Vision

In other National Vision news, Chairman L Reade Fahs sold 137,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.33, for a total value of $3,342,942.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 544,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,254,862.35. This trade represents a 20.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in National Vision in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in National Vision in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in National Vision in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in National Vision by 69.3% in the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of National Vision during the 2nd quarter valued at about $83,000.

National Vision Company Profile

National Vision Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an optical retailer in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Owned & Host and Legacy. It offers eyeglasses and contact lenses, and optical accessory products; provides eye exams through its America’s Best, Eyeglass World, Vista Optical, Fred Meyer, and Vista Optical military, as well as Vision Center branded stores; and offers health maintenance organization and optometric services.