Short Interest in National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) Expands By 20.4%

National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,959,856 shares, an increase of 20.4% from the March 15th total of 9,106,435 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,390,342 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.9 days. Approximately 14.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EYE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of National Vision in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of National Vision from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of National Vision from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of National Vision from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of National Vision from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.21.

National Vision Stock Up 3.3%

National Vision stock opened at $25.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.33. National Vision has a fifty-two week low of $10.75 and a fifty-two week high of $30.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $26.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.87.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $503.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $495.26 million. National Vision had a net margin of 1.49% and a return on equity of 5.15%. The business’s revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.04) EPS. National Vision has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.850-1.090 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that National Vision will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman L Reade Fahs sold 4,071 shares of National Vision stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.57, for a total value of $120,379.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 359,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,626,245.63. The trade was a 1.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EYE. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of National Vision by 1,242.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,532,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,295,000 after purchasing an additional 4,194,614 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of National Vision by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,840,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,293,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280,783 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of National Vision by 127.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,965,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,213 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of National Vision by 1,252.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,149,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064,645 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of National Vision by 4,726.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 977,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,534,000 after purchasing an additional 957,273 shares during the period.

National Vision Company Profile

National Vision Holdings, Inc is an American optical retailer specializing in accessible vision care and eyewear. The company operates under multiple retail banners, offering comprehensive eye health services and a wide range of optical products. Since its founding in the early 1990s, National Vision has focused on providing value-driven solutions, targeting underserved and price‐conscious consumer segments.

Through its primary retail brands—including America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses, Eyeglass World, Optical America and Vista Optical—National Vision delivers services such as comprehensive eye examinations, prescription eyewear, contact lenses, sunglasses and lens accessories.