Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $2.79 Million Stake in Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA)

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA) by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 445,840 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 54,300 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 1.51% of Vera Bradley worth $2,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRA. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Vera Bradley in the second quarter worth $25,000. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new stake in Vera Bradley in the fourth quarter valued at about $94,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Vera Bradley in the first quarter valued at about $101,000. Bailard Inc. bought a new stake in Vera Bradley in the second quarter valued at about $137,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Vera Bradley by 87.3% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,873 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 12,523 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.88% of the company’s stock.

Vera Bradley Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRA opened at $5.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.43. Vera Bradley, Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.38 and a 52 week high of $8.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.14 million, a PE ratio of 39.00 and a beta of 1.89.

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 11th. The textile maker reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $110.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $129.53 million. Vera Bradley had a net margin of 0.19% and a return on equity of 2.75%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vera Bradley, Inc. will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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