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Why Warby Parker (WRBY) Shares Are Getting Obliterated Today


Anthony Lee /
2026/01/12 1:30 pm EST

What Happened?

Shares of eyewear retailer Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) fell 5.5% in the afternoon session after reports revealed significant stock sales by two of the company's Co-Chief Executive Officers. 

Co-Chief Executive Officer Neil Harris Blumenthal sold 50,000 shares for a total of approximately $1.35 million. According to a filing, this sale was conducted under a pre-arranged trading plan. In a separate transaction, fellow Co-CEO Dave Gilboa sold 94,906 shares for about $2.61 million. This sale was particularly notable as it cut his direct stock ownership by more than 71%. Substantial selling by top executives can raise concerns among investors about a company's future prospects, often leading to a negative reaction in the market.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Warby Parker? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Warby Parker’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 33 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 7 days ago when the stock gained 1.9% on the news that Loop Capital named the company one of its top-pick stocks for 2026. 

The investment firm's selection was based on what it described as an "attractive risk/reward profile." This designation suggested that Loop Capital believed the potential for the stock's price to increase outweighed the possible risks. Such an endorsement from an analyst firm often gave investors more confidence in a company's future performance, leading to increased buying activity and a higher stock price.

Warby Parker is up 18.5% since the beginning of the year, but at $26.81 per share, it is still trading 11.3% below its 52-week high of $30.23 from December 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Warby Parker’s shares at the IPO in September 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $491.93.

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