Is Warby Parker a Meme Stock? Maybe…

Warby Parker, which makes glasses for big city nerds, comes public today under the ticker WRBY.

Warby Parker was priced at $40 per share to give the company a $5 billion valuation.

It’s not an IPO. Warby Parker is coming public in a Direct Listing, where shares are sold directly to the public, bypassing the traditional Wall Street machine.

Now, we’re not going to give you a big comparison between IPOs and Direct Listings, but there is one to be aware of – companies using Direct Listings can avoid lockup restrictions. So there is a chance Warby Parker insiders will dump stock on the market.

Now, the big question people are asking are these?

1) Will this be another Robinhood (HOOD)?

Everyone was laughing at the Robinhood IPO… and then this happened:

The stock freaking almost tripled in 3 days.

Based on the fact that barely anyone knows Warby Parker is coming public, we’re going to say there’s little chance this happens. The stock could rise because IPO’s have generally been doing well, but a Robinhood-like pop is unlikely.

Why is one paying attention? Because the Wall Street machine is not getting paid, so the mainstream media’s not bothering.

That brings us to the next question.

2) Is Warby Parker (WRBY) a Meme Stock?

Based on our meme stock criteria, Warby Parker has a decent chance of earning meme stock status.

They have a well-known brand, and the chatter that is out there is negative. Some people think the company’s way, way overvalued.

Plus, since Warby Parker bypassed the big banks, it’s already an anti-establishment play.

So we could see shorts banging the stock down after it comes public… and we could see the Wall Street Bets community coming in to play.

Conclusion: 69.3% chance WRBY Becomes A Meme Stock

Obviously, this doesn’t mean buy or sell. It does mean the stock is likely to make wild moves up and down.