Shares of National Vision Holdings Inc. EYE plummeted 37.9% in very active afternoon trading Wednesday, putting them on track for a record one-day selloff and to close at a 10-month low, after the optical retail company reported a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss and provided a full-year profit outlook that was roughly half what was forecast, citing a challenging economic environment that hurt its “core value conscious uninsured customer base.” The stock’s previous record one-day drop was 25.7% on May 10, 2022. Trading volume swelled to 9.5 million shares, compared with the full-day average over the past 30 days of about 536,300 shares. The company reported before the open that it swung to a net loss of $9.3 million, 12 cents a share, from net income of $6.2 million, or 7 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, the adjusted per-share loss of 8 cents missed the FactSet loss consensus of 3 cents. Revenue fell 1.9% to $468.9 million, below the FactSet consensus of $471.5 million. Costs of sales increased 2.1% to $222.2 million, as gross margin contracted to 52.6% from 54.4%. For 2023, the company expects adjusted earnings per share of 42 cents to 60 cents, compared with the FactSet EPS consensus prior to the report of $1.00. Wells Fargo analyst Zachary Fadem cut his stock price target to $30 from $44, and wrote in a note to clients: “At first glance, something doesn’t smell right.” Fadem reiterated the overweight rating, however, as the stock’s selloff “looks overly harsh” as the disappointing EPS outlook should prove conservative. The stock has now plunged 41.6% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 SPX has declined 3.0%.
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