Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Decreases Position in Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Stride, Inc. by 13.4% in the first quarter, now holding shares worth approximately $1.58 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Janus Henderson and Congress Asset Management, significantly increased their holdings in Stride, with Congress Asset Management boosting its stake by 102.2%.
• Analysts have upgraded Stride's rating, with Wall Street Zen changing it from "hold" to "buy", and the stock has an average target price of $143.40.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its stake in Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN - Free Report) by 13.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,505 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,929 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Stride were worth $1,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Stride by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 617,894 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,164,000 after buying an additional 58,029 shares in the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA acquired a new stake in Stride in the 1st quarter valued at about $233,000. Argent Trust Co raised its holdings in Stride by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 3,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Stride by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 10,952 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in Stride by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 14,097 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. 98.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stride Trading Up 4.5%

NYSE LRN traded up $6.70 on Tuesday, reaching $157.13. The stock had a trading volume of 856,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 729,001. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a quick ratio of 5.27, a current ratio of 5.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Stride, Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.25 and a 12-month high of $162.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $138.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.29.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Stride in a report on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stride in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Stride from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stride in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Stride from $148.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Stride has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $143.40.

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.