Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Position in LifeStance Health Group, Inc. $LFST

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its stake in LifeStance Health Group by 21.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 17.7 million shares worth about $124.6 million. Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other investors controlling about 85.5% of the stock.
• LifeStance reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, posting $0.04 per share versus the $0.01 consensus estimate, while revenue of $403.48 million also topped forecasts and rose 21.2% year over year.
• The company’s board authorized a $100 million share repurchase program, but insider selling has been notable, including sales by directors Robert Bessler and Darren M. Black totaling millions of shares over the last 90 days.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST - Free Report) by 21.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,700,041 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,086,506 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 4.55% of LifeStance Health Group worth $124,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of LifeStance Health Group by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 48,181 shares of the company's stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 7,943 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in LifeStance Health Group by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 32,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 5,789 shares during the last quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in LifeStance Health Group by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC now owns 11,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in LifeStance Health Group by 162.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 60,461 shares of the company's stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 37,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co. purchased a new position in LifeStance Health Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.50% of the company's stock.

LifeStance Health Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LFST opened at $7.93 on Wednesday. LifeStance Health Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.74 and a 1 year high of $8.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 132.17 and a beta of 1.20.

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.03. LifeStance Health Group had a return on equity of 1.56% and a net margin of 1.55%.The business had revenue of $403.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $387.46 million. LifeStance Health Group's revenue for the quarter was up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LifeStance Health Group, Inc. will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LifeStance Health Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert Bessler sold 75,000 shares of LifeStance Health Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.55, for a total value of $641,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,236,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,575,905.40. The trade was a 5.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Darren M. Black sold 4,314,939 shares of LifeStance Health Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.01, for a total transaction of $30,247,722.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 29,209,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,760,529.76. This trade represents a 12.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 4,464,939 shares of company stock worth $31,417,131 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LFST has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded LifeStance Health Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. KeyCorp raised their price target on LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Barclays raised their price target on LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. BTIG Research raised their target price on LifeStance Health Group from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on LifeStance Health Group from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $10.00.

LifeStance Health Group Company Profile

LifeStance Health Group NASDAQ: LFST is a leading provider of outpatient mental health services in the United States. Headquartered in New York City, the company operates a growing network of clinics that deliver integrated, patient-centered psychological and psychiatric care. LifeStance’s mission is to expand access to high-quality mental health treatment by combining evidence-based therapy modalities with personalized treatment plans.

The company’s service offerings include individual, family, and group psychotherapy, psychiatric medication management, psychological assessment, and telehealth services.

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