Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Position in Stride, Inc. $LRN

Key Points

• Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Stride, Inc. by 9,288.3% in the second quarter, owning a total of $1.28 million worth of shares after purchasing an additional 8,731 shares.
• Stride's quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' expectations, reporting $2.29 EPS compared to the consensus of $1.83 and a revenue of $653.65 million, a 22.4% increase year-over-year.
• Analysts have set mixed ratings for Stride with Morgan Stanley raising its price target to $159 while Barrington Research increased their target to $185, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN - Free Report) by 9,288.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,825 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,731 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Stride were worth $1,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LRN. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Stride by 102.2% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,169,748 shares of the company's stock worth $147,973,000 after buying an additional 591,208 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Stride by 5.4% in the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,009,726 shares of the company's stock worth $127,730,000 after buying an additional 52,000 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Stride by 10.4% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 617,894 shares of the company's stock worth $78,164,000 after buying an additional 58,029 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stride by 12.3% in the first quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 613,820 shares of the company's stock worth $77,648,000 after buying an additional 67,184 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Stride by 120.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 607,581 shares of the company's stock worth $63,146,000 after buying an additional 332,098 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.24% of the company's stock.

Stride Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LRN traded up $1.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $142.07. 1,132,645 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 760,015. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a quick ratio of 5.27, a current ratio of 5.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.64. Stride, Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.25 and a 52-week high of $171.17.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on LRN shares. Barrington Research lifted their price objective on Stride from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Stride from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Stride from $148.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $146.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Jeaho Rhyu sold 13,961 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.66, for a total value of $2,270,896.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 706,353 shares in the company, valued at $114,895,378.98. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate 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.