Short Interest in Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W) Declines By 18.3%

Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W) saw a significant drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,100,000 shares, a drop of 18.3% from the October 15th total of 20,930,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,740,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Wayfair Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:W traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $38.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,261,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,519,833. Wayfair has a fifty-two week low of $37.35 and a fifty-two week high of $76.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.51 and a beta of 3.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.41.

Wayfair (NYSE:W) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.38) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wayfair will post -2.92 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Wayfair from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Wayfair from $67.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Wayfair from $58.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Wayfair from $58.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Wayfair from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wayfair has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wayfair news, insider Jon Blotner sold 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.60, for a total transaction of $246,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 52,078 shares in the company, valued at $2,791,380.80. This represents a 8.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kate Gulliver sold 7,330 shares of Wayfair stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.05, for a total transaction of $388,856.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 117,947 shares in the company, valued at $6,257,088.35. The trade was a 5.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,868 shares of company stock valued at $2,003,248. Corporate insiders own 26.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wayfair by 5.6% during the first quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 5,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Wayfair by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Wayfair by 12.0% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Wayfair during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wayfair by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. 89.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Wayfair

Wayfair Inc provides e-commerce business in the United States and internationally. The company offers approximately thirty million products for the home sector. It offers online selections of furniture, décor, housewares, and home improvement products through its sites consisting of Wayfair, Joss & Main, AllModern, Birch Lane, Perigold, and Wayfair Professional.