What Happened?
Shares of uniform rental provider Vestis Corporation (NYSE: VSTS) jumped 2.2% in the morning session after company director Keith Meister disclosed a significant purchase of over one million shares for approximately $6.8 million.
Meister, who is also a 10% owner, made the investment through two separate open-market purchases alongside funds.
This substantial insider buy was viewed as a strong signal of confidence in the company's future. The move was particularly noteworthy because the stock had been down significantly year-to-date amid challenges with declining revenue and pressure on margins. Investors often interpret large purchases by company insiders as a sign that management believes a turnaround is likely.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $7.00, up 0.6% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Vestis’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 34 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 2 days ago when the stock dropped 11.4% on the news that the company announced that its Chief Financial Officer, Kelly Janzen, would depart at the end of 2025. The provider of uniforms and workplace supplies appointed Adam K. Bowen as Interim CFO. While the company stated Janzen's departure was not due to any disagreement over operations or policies, the news came as Vestis faced other financial challenges. The company had recently reported fourth-quarter earnings that fell significantly short of expectations. Vestis did reaffirm its full-year 2026 financial guidance, anticipating revenue to be flat to down 2% from the previous year. However, the leadership uncertainty appeared to weigh on investor sentiment.
Vestis is down 54.2% since the beginning of the year, and at $7.00 per share, it is trading 57.4% below its 52-week high of $16.45 from January 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Vestis’s shares at the IPO in September 2023 would now be looking at an investment worth $363.74.
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