
Vera Bradley: The Bags Are Pretty; the Financials? Not So Much
When Insider Buys Can’t Seem to Make a Dent
Ticker: VRA 👜
Price: $1.78 (–4.81% as of Jun 13, 2025)
📌 Trigger: First Insider Buys in a Long Time
Two directors finally decided to show some bag-bone:
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Andrew Meslow bought 253,094 shares at $1.88 → +540% position → $474,551 💸
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Ian Bickley bought 53,722 shares at $1.86 → +135% position → $99,923 🧾
Nice to see insiders jumping in. But will it matter?
📊 Institutional Love for the Bags (If Not the Balance Sheet)
Surprise, surprise… Vera Bradley is a hit with the big-money crowd — at least on paper.
👜 98.65% of the float is held by institutions
🏛️ 113 institutional holders are still saying, “We believe!”
(Or at least... “We own it already.”)
💼 Top Institutional Holders: Who’s Toting the Bag?
🏢 Institution | 📦 Shares | 📆 Date | 🧮 % of Shares Out | 💵 Value |
---|---|---|---|---|
🥇 Fund 1 Investments, LLC | 2.78M | Mar 31, 2025 | 9.97% | $4.95M |
🥈 Royce & Associates LP | 1.74M | Mar 31, 2025 | 6.22% | $3.09M |
🥉 BlackRock Inc. | 1.69M | Mar 31, 2025 | 6.06% | $3.01M |
🧮 Nomura Holdings Inc. | 1.66M | Mar 31, 2025 | 5.95% | $2.96M |
📐 Dimensional Fund Advisors LP | 1.61M | Mar 31, 2025 | 5.76% | $2.86M |
🔭 Vanguard Group Inc. | 1.29M | Mar 31, 2025 | 4.64% | $2.30M |
📎 Translation? The smart money still sees some thread left in Vera Bradley’s fabric — even if the patterns are a little faded.
Will they be right? Or are they just holding the bag? 🎒
Time — and perhaps a new CEO — will tell.
🔍 For full Institutional Ownership breakdown, see here.
🧳 Brand in Transition: Vera’s Identity Crisis?
Vera Bradley makes beloved women’s handbags, travel gear, and gifts… but lately, the only thing packing is the leadership team.
👋 CEO Jacqueline Ardrey is leaving
📦 Project Restoration still underway
🪑 New Executive Chairman: Ian Bickley (ex-Coach, Body Shop, Crocs board member) will help guide the ship while a new CEO is recruited
Ardrey leaves behind mixed results, and bags full of ambition.
📉 The Numbers: From Designer Bags to Deep Red
Revenue:
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FY2025: $372.0M ↓ from $470.8M in FY2024
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Q1 FY2026: $51.7M ↓ from $67.9M last year
Net Income:
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FY2025 GAAP: ($62.2M) → Ouch
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FY2025 Non-GAAP: ($18.4M)
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FY2024 GAAP: $7.8M
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FY2024 Non-GAAP: $17.2M
💸 Cash on Hand:
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FY End: $30.4M → Q1: $11.3M 🔻
📉 Stock Performance:
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Shares are down over 96% from their 2011 peak
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Currently trading near all-time lows
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Price/Sales = 0.14 | Price/Book = 0.34 (a steal... or a trap?)
🧵 Project Restoration: Fashion Forward or Backward?
Ardrey’s final remarks reveal a strategy rooted in:
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Expanding heritage products 👛
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Dropping pricey items 💲🔽
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Returning to fan-favorite classics 💖
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Selling off Pura Vida for focus & liquidity ✂️
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$20M in planned cost savings 🧮
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No debt = flexibility (or fragility?)
Even with all that stitching, the business still feels… unraveled.
🔁 Share Buybacks: A Tale of Shrinking Cash
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$21.8M in shares repurchased in FY2025
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Average price? $6.41 🤕
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A new $30M buyback plan was approved in Dec 2024
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But guess what? They’re not using it. 💤
Because… well, cash.
👉 Want the full picture? Dive into Vera Bradley’s financials here.
🧭 So Where Are We?
🚨 Red Flags:
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Revenues falling off a tote-sized cliff
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Net loss so large you could fit a duffle in it
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Cash nearly gone
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Buyback program paused
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Unclear future until new CEO arrives
💡 Silver Linings:
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First insider buys in ages
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Debt-free (for now)
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Share price is cheap... for a reason
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🧵 Still looking for #4
Interested in another investment idea?
Check our take on UnitedHealth Group.
👛 Final Take: The Bags Deserve Better
We love Vera Bradley’s brand. The bags are charming, colorful, and often iconic. But the business? More like a clearance rack right now.
💼 Until a visionary CEO zips this up and turns it around, we’re browsing—not buying. Gladly adding VRA to our watch list, though: let’s see who they hire. 🔍
🧴 Disclaimer
We’re not financial advisors, just stylists for your stock portfolio.
🎒 Invest at your own risk—and maybe hold the tote.
🧭 Want More Like This?
👉 Browse our Insider Purchases Center
👉 Explore our Follow the Pundits Hub: When Big Bets Matter
👉 Check out our Young Guns & Turnaround Stocks
👉 Dive into Stock Market Humor & Serious-ish Plays
👉 International Investment Opportunities and value plays await here.
👉 For even older brands on new missions, explore our Corporate Resurrection Series. Nope, doesn't exist anymore.
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