Morgan Stanley Lowers Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) Price Target to $66.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley lowered Bright Horizons Family Solutions’ price target to $66 from $68 and maintained an “underweight” rating, implying just 1.68% upside from the prior close.
• Analysts’ overall view remains cautious, with the stock carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $95.62. Shares opened at $64.91 and remain well below their 52-week high of $110.14.
• Bright Horizons exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.28 in earnings per share versus a $1.20 consensus estimate and $779.18 million in revenue, up 6.4% year over year.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $68.00 to $66.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential upside of 1.68% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.62.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of BFAM stock opened at $64.91 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.15. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 52-week low of $57.63 and a 52-week high of $110.14.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $779.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $774.84 million. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 20.09%. Bright Horizons Family Solutions's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.07 earnings per share. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.050-5.150 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 4.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, Director Mary Tocio sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total value of $435,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,001.85. This represents a 29.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Mary Burke sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $90,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 30,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,320,875. The trade was a 3.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 8,900 shares of company stock valued at $656,584 in the last ninety days. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. AG Campbell Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at about $60,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 499.3% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 821 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $87,000.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Company Profile

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc provides employer-sponsored child care and workforce-support services. The company operates early education and preschool centers, offering full-day care and educational programs for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-age children. It also provides back-up care services, including center-based and in-home care, to help employees manage disruptions in their regular care arrangements.

In addition to child care, Bright Horizons offers educational advisory services, college and university admissions counseling, and other family-support programs.

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