Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Stock Price

Key Points

• Barclays lowered its price target on StepStone Group from $62 to $60 while keeping an overweight rating, implying about 40% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: StepStone has multiple bullish ratings, with MarketBeat showing an average “Moderate Buy” and a $71.62 average target price.
• Recent results and insider activity were mixed: the company beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, while insider Michael I. Mccabe bought 120,000 shares and COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 100,000 shares.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Barclays from $62.00 to $60.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price target points to a potential upside of 40.33% from the company's previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on StepStone Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of StepStone Group from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.62.

StepStone Group Stock Up 0.6%

StepStone Group stock opened at $42.76 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $47.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.29 and a beta of 1.31. StepStone Group has a 52-week low of $38.85 and a 52-week high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $305.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.11 million. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 26.88% and a positive return on equity of 37.69%. StepStone Group's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that StepStone Group will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael I. Mccabe bought 120,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $41.85 per share, with a total value of $5,022,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 433,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,128,499.30. This represents a 38.32% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total transaction of $4,860,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 102,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,294. This trade represents a 49.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 16.47% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of StepStone Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 105.0% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 414 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 155.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 514 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 58.6% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 544 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 17,350.0% in the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 800 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About StepStone Group

StepStone Group is a global private markets investment firm that provides specialized investment solutions across private equity, private credit and real assets. The firm offers customized portfolios, secondary interests, direct co-investments and tailored advisory services to institutional investors worldwide. StepStone's integrated research and data analytics platform supports its investment teams in sourcing opportunities and monitoring portfolio companies.

Founded in 2007 as an independent private markets specialist, the company has grown its presence through both organic expansion and strategic partnerships.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.