Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley lowered Phoenix Education Partners’ price target from $40 to $38 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 58.7% upside from the stock’s $23.95 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a MarketBeat consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.60, despite mixed recent rating changes.
• Phoenix Education Partners recently exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.43 in EPS versus the $1.28 consensus estimate, while several major investment firms—including Wellington Management and BlackRock—bought or increased stakes.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price target indicates a potential upside of 58.70% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on PXED. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on Phoenix Education Partners from $54.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Phoenix Education Partners from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Phoenix Education Partners from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Phoenix Education Partners from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Phoenix Education Partners to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Phoenix Education Partners has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.60.

Phoenix Education Partners Trading Down 1.7%

PXED traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.95. 33,108 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 101,964. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $863.22 million and a P/E ratio of 11.14. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $27.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.31. Phoenix Education Partners has a one year low of $23.52 and a one year high of $38.19.

Phoenix Education Partners (NYSE:PXED - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $271.80 million during the quarter. Phoenix Education Partners had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 60.06%. As a group, analysts forecast that Phoenix Education Partners will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phoenix Education Partners

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Phoenix Education Partners by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 743,112 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,411,000 after purchasing an additional 241,997 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Phoenix Education Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at $12,620,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Phoenix Education Partners in the 2nd quarter worth $2,398,000. Bastion Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Phoenix Education Partners in the first quarter valued at about $2,085,000. Finally, Manatuck Hill Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Phoenix Education Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,364,000.

About Phoenix Education Partners

Phoenix Education Partners, Inc NYSE: PXED is an education company focused on providing higher education and career-oriented learning opportunities for working adults. Its principal institution is University of Phoenix, which offers programs designed to accommodate students balancing education with professional and personal responsibilities.

Through University of Phoenix, the company provides online and flexible learning options in areas such as business, education, health care, information technology, nursing, and criminal justice.

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