Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) & a.k.a. Brands (NYSE:AKA) Critical Review

Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) and a.k.a. Brands (NYSE:AKA) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Warby Parker and a.k.a. Brands’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Warby Parker	N/A	N/A	N/A
a.k.a. Brands	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Warby Parker and a.k.a. Brands, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Warby Parker	1	3	6	0	2.50
a.k.a. Brands	1	2	1	0	2.00

Warby Parker currently has a consensus target price of $30.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.66%. a.k.a. Brands has a consensus target price of $19.00, suggesting a potential upside of 77.74%. Given a.k.a. Brands’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe a.k.a. Brands is more favorable than Warby Parker.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

93.2% of Warby Parker shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.3% of a.k.a. Brands shares are held by institutional investors. 16.8% of Warby Parker shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 18.2% of a.k.a. Brands shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Warby Parker has a beta of 1.89, meaning that its stock price is 89% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, a.k.a. Brands has a beta of 1.38, meaning that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Warby Parker and a.k.a. Brands”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Warby Parker	$911.61 million	2.98	$7.58 million	$0.07	358.17
a.k.a. Brands	$603.56 million	0.19	-$27.26 million	($2.48)	-4.31

Warby Parker has higher revenue and earnings than a.k.a. Brands. a.k.a. Brands is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Warby Parker, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Warby Parker beats a.k.a. Brands on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Warby Parker

Warby Parker Inc. provides eyewear products in the United States and Canada. The company offers eyeglasses, sunglasses, light-responsive lenses, blue-light-filtering lenses, non-prescription lenses, and contact lenses. It also provides accessories, such as cases, lenses kit with anti-fog spray, pouches, and anti-fog lens spray through its retail stores, website, and mobile apps. In addition, the company offers eye exams and vision tests. Warby Parker Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About a.k.a. Brands

a.k.a. Brands Holding Corp. operates a portfolio of online fashion brands in the United States, Australia, and internationally. The company offers streetwear apparel, dresses, tops, bottoms, shoes, headwear, and accessories through its online stores under the Princess Polly, Petal & Pup, Culture Kings, and mnml brands. It also operates physical stores under the Culture Kings brand. The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.