Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com lowered shares of Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Sunday.

Vera Bradley Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ VRA opened at $6.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $198.29 million, a PE ratio of 25.76 and a beta of 1.89. Vera Bradley has a 1-year low of $4.60 and a 1-year high of $8.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.24.

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The textile maker reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $133.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $136.06 million. Vera Bradley had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 1.66%. As a group, analysts predict that Vera Bradley will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vera Bradley

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Vera Bradley by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,338,827 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $10,309,000 after acquiring an additional 26,306 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Vera Bradley during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,672,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Vera Bradley by 75.6% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,702 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 32,170 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new stake in Vera Bradley during the fourth quarter valued at about $347,000. Finally, Prelude Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vera Bradley by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 23,200 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 7,700 shares during the period. 59.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Vera Bradley

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 consisting of rolling luggage, cosmetics, and travel and packing accessories, as well as travel bags comprising duffel and weekend bags.