Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Purchases 34,920 Shares of Stride, Inc. $LRN

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Stride, Inc. by 143.0% during the 1st quarter, now holding 59,345 shares valued at approximately $7.5 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly boosted their investments in Stride, with Congress Asset Management Co. increasing its stake by 102.2%, and GAMMA Investing LLC by 14,892.4%.
• Analysts have varying outlooks on Stride, with Morgan Stanley raising the target price to $159.00, while Barrington Research set it at $185.00, indicating growing confidence in the company's performance.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN - Free Report) by 143.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,345 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,920 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned 0.14% of Stride worth $7,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LRN. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stride by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc lifted its position in shares of Stride by 4.6% in the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 2,328 shares of the company's stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Stride by 140.5% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 267 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Stride by 333.3% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 208 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Stride by 2.4% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,111 shares of the company's stock valued at $900,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. 98.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LRN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barrington Research raised their target price on shares of Stride from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Stride from $148.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Stride from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $146.40.

Stride Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of LRN traded up $1.47 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $165.89. 564,422 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 762,345. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 5.39 and a quick ratio of 5.27. The stock's 50-day moving average is $146.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.89. Stride, Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.25 and a 12 month high of $171.17. The stock has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.22.

Stride (NYSE:LRN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.46. Stride had a return on equity of 25.51% and a net margin of 11.97%.The company had revenue of $653.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $626.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. Stride's revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Stride, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Stride

In related news, CEO James Jeaho Rhyu sold 13,961 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.66, for a total value of $2,270,896.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 706,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at $114,895,378.98. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

About Stride

Stride, Inc, a technology-based education service company, engages in the provision of proprietary and third-party online curriculum, software systems, and educational services in the United States and internationally. Its technology-based products and services enable clients to attract, enroll, educate, track progress, support, and facilitate individualized learning for students.