Direct-to-consumer lifestyle brand Warby Parker’s (WRBY) shares rallied in price after the company reported its first quarterly results as a public company and boosted its outlook for its fiscal year. However, considering WRBY’s lofty valuation, is the stock a good bet now? Read on.Lifestyle brand Warby Parker Inc. (WRBY) designs, manufactures, and retails eyewear products for men and women. WRBY made its stock market debut on September 29 at $54.05 per share via a direct listing. The New York City company’s stock soared 36% in price on its first trading session to close at $54.49. However, the stock has gained a mere 2.1% since it went public, closing yesterday’s trading session at $54.16. Also, it has declined 5.8% over the past month.
WRBY shares closed the trading session 9% higher on November 12 following the company’s first quarterly earnings release as a public company that day. The direct-to-consumer lifestyle brand reported a 32% increase in net revenues to $137.37 million in its fiscal third quarter, ended September 30, while its net loss and net loss per share were $91.07 million and $1.45, respectively. The company’s loss was wider-than-expected, but sales beat Wall Street's estimates.
The company is seeing rising foot traffic in its brick-and-mortar stores, while it also reported more customer engagement on its digital platform. “We’re finding that more and more of our customers are engaging with our digital tools and our stores at various parts of their journey, so it’s not one or the other and really kind of a part of our direct consumer offering,” explained co-CEO David Gilboa. The number of active customers jumped by 395,000, or 23% year-over-year.