Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) Director Andrew Meslow Acquires 250,000 Shares

Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA) Director Andrew Meslow bought 250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.98 per share, with a total value of $495,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 550,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,089,000. This trade represents a 83.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, December 15th, Andrew Meslow purchased 50,000 shares of Vera Bradley stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.93 per share, for a total transaction of $96,500.00.

Vera Bradley Stock Down 6.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRA traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $1.83. 1,111,567 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 429,149. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 2.52. Vera Bradley, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1.39 and a 52-week high of $4.19. The business’s fifty 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 PE ratio of -0.52 and a beta of 1.74.

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The textile maker reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.07. Vera Bradley had a negative return on equity of 18.30% and a negative net margin of 34.23%.The firm had revenue of $62.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.27) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Vera Bradley, Inc. will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Vera Bradley by 15.2% during the third quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 1,846,432 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,711,000 after acquiring an additional 243,900 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Vera Bradley during the 2nd quarter worth about $363,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Vera Bradley by 224.4% during the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 185,035 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 127,994 shares during the period. RBF Capital LLC bought a new stake in Vera Bradley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in Vera Bradley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.