Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Laureate Education has an average “Hold” rating from seven analysts, with four buys, two holds, and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $40.50 versus the stock’s reported $35.98 price.
• Recent operating results exceeded expectations: Quarterly earnings were $1.00 per share, ahead of the $0.96 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 17.5% year over year to $615.9 million. Management’s fiscal 2026 EPS guidance is $2.04–$2.10.
• Ownership activity was mixed: Institutional investors own 96.27% of the company, with several major funds increasing their positions, while insiders sold $19.1 million worth of shares over the past three months.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.50.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LAUR. Barrington Research initiated coverage on shares of Laureate Education in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Laureate Education from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Laureate Education from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $34.50 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Laureate Education in a report on Monday, August 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Laureate Education news, Director Ian Snow sold 427,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.26, for a total value of $15,483,708.94. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,646,324 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,695,708.24. This represents a 20.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 521,229 shares of company stock worth $19,103,350 in the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laureate Education

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Laureate Education by 3,426.5% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,263,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $191,170,000 after buying an additional 5,114,238 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in Laureate Education by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,654,708 shares of the company's stock worth $89,384,000 after acquiring an additional 915,358 shares during the period. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laureate Education during the 4th quarter worth $27,554,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,266,565 shares of the company's stock worth $76,315,000 after acquiring an additional 811,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in shares of Laureate Education by 113.8% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,288,851 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,133,000 after acquiring an additional 685,998 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.27% of the company's stock.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

LAUR stock opened at $35.98 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $37.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Laureate Education has a 12-month low of $24.98 and a 12-month high of $40.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.38.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. Laureate Education had a return on equity of 23.54% and a net margin of 17.57%.The firm had revenue of $615.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $607.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Laureate Education has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.040-2.100 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Laureate Education will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Laureate Education

Laureate Education, Inc NASDAQ: LAUR is a leading global network of higher education institutions dedicated to providing undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs to a diverse student body. The company designs and delivers academic offerings through a combination of campus-based and online platforms, focusing on fields such as business, health sciences, engineering, education and hospitality management. By aligning its curriculum with regional workforce needs, Laureate aims to equip students with practical skills and industry insights that support career advancement and lifelong learning.

Through its network, Laureate operates a broad portfolio of universities and colleges, including both longstanding campus institutions and digitally native programs.

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.