What Happened?
Shares of online home goods retailer Wayfair (NYSE: W) jumped 8.8% in the afternoon session after the company appointed Hal Lawton, president and CEO of Tractor Supply Company, to its board of directors and RBC Capital raised its price target.
The addition of a successful CEO to the board signaled strong leadership. Alongside this news, RBC Capital increased its price target for Wayfair to $86 from $51. This followed the company's third-quarter results, which showed an 8.1% increase in net sales. The company also announced plans to open a new, smaller-format store in Columbus, Ohio, in late 2026 to test a different retail model.
The shares closed the day at $106.99, up 8.3% from previous close.
Is now the time to buy Wayfair? Access our full analysis report here.
What Is The Market Telling Us
Wayfair’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 45 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 11 days ago when the stock gained 3.6% on the news that JPMorgan raised its price target on the stock, citing positive signs ahead of the company's third-quarter earnings report. Analyst Christopher Horvers increased the price target from $82 to $105 while keeping an "Overweight" rating on the shares. The firm's positive view was based on checks that pointed to stronger-than-expected performance. These checks suggested U.S. revenue grew by 6%, which would lift total company revenue by 4.7%. This figure was ahead of broader market expectations. The analyst also noted that Wayfair's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) were likely to beat consensus estimates. The optimistic note came just before Wayfair was scheduled to release its official quarterly results.
Wayfair is up 132% since the beginning of the year, and at $106.88 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Wayfair’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $454.17.
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