Keep Your Eye on This Stock, It Just Got a Rare Double Upgrade
MarketBeat.com | May 15, 2025 10:41AM ET
After months of hiding in the shadows, National Vision Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:EYE) is suddenly one of the hottest stocks in the market.
Shares have jumped more than 40% over the past week alone, hitting their highest level in more than a year as momentum builds behind a stock that had been trading sideways since last September. After a blockbuster earnings report and a rare double upgrade from Bank of America, investor enthusiasm has returned in force—and this could be just the beginning.
National Vision is a $1.5 billion company that operates over 1,300 retail optical locations in the United States, including America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses and Eyeglass World. It provides eye exams, glasses, and contact lenses and also partners with Walmart (NYSE:WMT) to manage Vision Centers.
While it's not exactly one of the better-known tech stocks dominating headlines, this past week has changed things. So how did a long-overlooked eyewear retailer suddenly become a breakout star on Wall Street? The clues lie in its latest earnings—and what comes next.
Blowout Earnings Spark New Interest
The rally started with National Vision's first-quarter earnings release, which smashed expectations. Non-GAAP revenue reached $510.3 million, up nearly 6% on the year and well ahead of expectations.
Management pointed to a series of strategic changes implemented late in 2024 as the key driver. These included a new pricing architecture to boost average ticket size, improved recruitment and retention of optometrists, and new remote exam capabilities to mitigate labor shortages.
CEO Reade Fahs said the results are "a testament to the entire team's disciplined execution," while President Alex Wilkes emphasized the focus on higher-value customer segments and enhanced digital experience.
The business saw fit to raise its full-year 2025 guidance across the board, which is one of the most bullish signs a company can give to the market. Understandably, shares have been red hot since.
Bank of America Issues Rare Double Upgrade
Adding fuel to the fire was Bank of America's rare double upgrade, with the team there moving National Vision from Underperform straight to a Buy rating. Analyst Robert Ohmes also set a new price target of $22, suggesting even more gains are due in the short term.
According to Ohmes, the first-quarter results show that "National Vision's initiatives are working," and the setup for the back half of 2025 is looking increasingly strong. He highlighted the company's focus on promotional frame traffic, improved marketing execution, and a growing base of managed care customers as key drivers going forward.
Ohmes also noted that less than 10% of National Vision's cost of goods sold is exposed to China. That's important because tariff-related risk remains a concern in the current trade environment. However, recent pricing changes have improved margins without hurting customer conversion or satisfaction, giving the company more room to absorb potential cost increases if new tariffs are imposed.
Is It Too Hot, Too Fast?
One note of caution: with all the buying, the stock's extremely overbought territory. That could open the door to some short-term profit-taking after the sharp run.
However, for long-term investors, any pullback may prove to be a buying opportunity. The stock remains well below Bank of America's $22 target, and the turnaround story now has real momentum behind it.
National Vision’s Bullish Case Comes Into Focus
After spending months in the shadows, National Vision has returned to investor radar with a bang. A crushing earnings beat, raised guidance, and a double upgrade have triggered a wave of new buying and put the stock firmly in uptrend territory. With transformation efforts clearly bearing fruit, margin expansion in full swing, and analysts calling for further gains, National Vision looks like a stock to watch closely and potentially accumulate, even if short-term volatility sets in.
Get The News You Want
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.