Short Interest in Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA) Increases By 35.8%

Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA) saw a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,200,000 shares, an increase of 35.8% from the July 15th total of 1,620,000 shares. Approximately 10.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 399,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Vera Bradley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vera Bradley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Vera Bradley in the 2nd quarter valued at $76,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Vera Bradley by 37.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 500,578 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $3,134,000 after purchasing an additional 137,552 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in Vera Bradley during the 2nd quarter worth $81,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Vera Bradley by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 445,840 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,791,000 after purchasing an additional 54,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Vera Bradley by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,474,763 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $9,232,000 after purchasing an additional 64,624 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.88% of the company’s stock.

Vera Bradley Price Performance

Vera Bradley stock traded up $0.26 during trading on Thursday, reaching $6.25. 197,224 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 336,515. Vera Bradley has a 52-week low of $5.45 and a 52-week high of $8.35. The company has a market capitalization of $184.30 million, a P/E ratio of 44.64 and a beta of 1.91. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.91.

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 12th. The textile maker reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.32). Vera Bradley had a return on equity of 5.17% and a net margin of 0.96%. The company had revenue of $80.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.76 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vera Bradley will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

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.