Park West Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Laureate Education $LAUR

Key Points

• Park West Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Laureate Education to about 1.19 million shares, accounting for approximately 2.0% of its portfolio, valued at $24.3 million.
• Analysts have upgraded Laureate Education from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating, with a consensus price target of $24.00.
• Laureate Education reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.79, surpassing estimates, and noted a revenue increase of 5.0% year over year.

Park West Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Free Report) by 7.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,189,140 shares of the company's stock after selling 96,000 shares during the quarter. Laureate Education comprises about 2.0% of Park West Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Park West Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.79% of Laureate Education worth $24,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Laureate Education by 260.1% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,901 shares of the company's stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 3,540 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Laureate Education by 144.7% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 355,513 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,270,000 after purchasing an additional 210,239 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Laureate Education by 43.3% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 25,838 shares of the company's stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 7,813 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,317,529 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,098,000 after buying an additional 58,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp grew its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 43.4% during the first quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 935,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,126,000 after buying an additional 282,901 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.27% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Laureate Education from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Laureate Education Stock Up 4.6%

NASDAQ:LAUR traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $29.03. 1,059,034 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 866,354. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 0.58. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $25.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.38. Laureate Education has a one year low of $14.77 and a one year high of $29.07.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.06. Laureate Education had a net margin of 16.41% and a return on equity of 29.46%. The company had revenue of $524.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $502.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Laureate Education has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts predict that Laureate Education will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

About Laureate Education

Laureate Education, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers higher education programs and services to students through a network of universities and higher education institutions. The company provides a range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the areas of business and management, medicine and health sciences, and engineering and information technology through campus-based, online, and hybrid programs.