1-800-FLOWERS.COM (NASDAQ:FLWS) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLWS) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $8.40, but opened at $8.58. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM shares last traded at $8.66, with a volume of 30,770 shares trading hands.

Specifically, major shareholder Fund 1 Investments, Llc acquired 89,301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.38 per share, for a total transaction of $748,342.38. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,668,665 shares in the company, valued at $39,123,412.70. The trade was a 1.95 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Fund 1 Investments, Llc bought 37,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.15 per share, with a total value of $301,550.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,579,364 shares in the company, valued at $37,321,816.60. The trade was a 0.81 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FLWS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM in a research note on Saturday, January 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on 1-800-FLOWERS.COM from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st.

1-800-FLOWERS.COM Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $7.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $561.93 million, a PE ratio of -62.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

1-800-FLOWERS.COM (NASDAQ:FLWS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The specialty retailer reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $193.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $246.88 million. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM had a negative net margin of 0.50% and a positive return on equity of 2.10%. The company’s revenue was down 28.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.48) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FLWS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,635,093 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,086,000 after acquiring an additional 129,627 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM by 15.7% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 686,961 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,540,000 after purchasing an additional 93,041 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 599,570 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,755,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM by 37.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 557,420 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,307,000 after purchasing an additional 152,536 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM by 50.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 340,637 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,701,000 after buying an additional 114,072 shares during the last quarter. 38.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

1-800-FLOWERS.COM Company Profile

1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc provides gifts for various occasions in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Consumer Floral & Gifts, Gourmet Foods & Gift Baskets, and BloomNet. The company offers a range of products, including fresh-cut flowers, floral and fruit arrangements, plants, gifts, personalized products, dipped berries, popcorns, gourmet foods and gift baskets, cookies, chocolates, candies, wines, and gift-quality fruits.