Short Interest in Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA) Decreases By 13.5%

Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,500,000 shares, a drop of 13.5% from the December 31st total of 2,890,000 shares. Approximately 12.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 301,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vera Bradley

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRA. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its position in Vera Bradley by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 44,406 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 4,824 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vera Bradley by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 144,210 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $787,000 after buying an additional 7,236 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vera Bradley by 40.6% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 33,765 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $184,000 after buying an additional 9,744 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Vera Bradley by 23.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 59,900 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 11,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Vera Bradley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.88% of the company's stock.

Vera Bradley Stock Down 0.3 %

VRA traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $3.62. The stock had a trading volume of 135,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 185,343. The stock has a market cap of $100.38 million, a PE ratio of -6.14 and a beta of 1.95. Vera Bradley has a 1 year low of $3.27 and a 1 year high of $8.32. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $4.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.06.

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 11th. The textile maker reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.33). Vera Bradley had a negative net margin of 4.21% and a negative return on equity of 2.74%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vera Bradley will post -0.25 EPS 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.