Wayfair’s Quarterly Sales Have ‘Considerable’ Upside, Baird Says

(Bloomberg) -- Wayfair Inc.’s strong Cyber Five year-over-year sales gain suggests “considerable upside potential for this quarter,” according to Baird Equity Research, who cites comparable period results over the past two years.

The Boston-based online home-goods retailer reported a 58 percent increase in direct retail sales for the shopping period of Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. This compares to 2017 and 2016 growth of 53 percent and 52 percent, respectively, for the similar five-day holiday periods.

The sales in those two prior Cyber Five periods ended up translating into fourth-quarter revenue growth of 48 percent last year and 40 percent in 2016, analyst Colin Sebastian wrote in a note. The latest figures may mean Wayfair beats his current quarterly top-line estimate of $1.97 billion.

Sebastian rates the stock neutral, with a price target of $108.

Wayfair shares rose 17 percent to $106.91 as of 11:07 a.m. in New York, the biggest intraday advance since May. The move pushes the stock’s gain to 33 percent so far this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Janet Freund in New York at jfreund11@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net, Jeremy R. Cooke

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