Driehaus Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 479,945 Planet Fitness, Inc. $PLNT

Key Points

• Driehaus Capital Management LLC has invested approximately $46.37 million in Planet Fitness, acquiring 479,945 shares and owning 0.57% of the company.
• Analyst ratings for Planet Fitness are generally positive, with one strong buy, twelve buy ratings, and three hold ratings; target prices range from $95.00 to $126.00.
• In its recent earnings report, Planet Fitness reported earnings per share of $0.86, exceeding estimates, with revenue increasing 13.3% year-over-year to $340.88 million.

Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 479,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,367,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.57% of Planet Fitness as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PLNT. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Planet Fitness in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,676,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Planet Fitness by 13.7% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,503 shares of the company's stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Planet Fitness by 7.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Planet Fitness by 2.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 359,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,756,000 after acquiring an additional 8,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Planet Fitness by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,098,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $782,394,000 after acquiring an additional 62,716 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.53% of the company's stock.

Planet Fitness Stock Performance

PLNT stock traded down $2.14 on Monday, hitting $104.66. 1,061,597 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,444,029. Planet Fitness, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.77 and a 12-month high of $114.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $108.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.88. The stock has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.37.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.07. Planet Fitness had a negative return on equity of 110.18% and a net margin of 15.11%.The firm had revenue of $340.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Planet Fitness, Inc. will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on PLNT. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Planet Fitness in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Planet Fitness in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Planet Fitness from $111.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $126.00 price target on Planet Fitness and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Planet Fitness in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Planet Fitness presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.38.

Planet Fitness Profile

Planet Fitness, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates fitness centers under the Planet Fitness brand. The company operates through three segments: Franchise, Corporate-Owned Stores, and Equipment. The company is involved in franchising business in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, and Australia.