William Blair Investment Management LLC Takes $71.04 Million Position in Stride, Inc. $LRN

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management acquired 823,698 Stride shares worth approximately $71.04 million, representing a 1.98% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 98.24% of the company.
• Stride exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.12 in earnings per share versus the $1.64 consensus estimate and $636.06 million in revenue, although revenue declined 2.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Stride has a consensus “Hold” rating from seven analysts, with an average price target of $109.75; shares recently opened at $84.13.

William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 823,698 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $71,036,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 1.98% of Stride as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Stride by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,883,571 shares of the company's stock worth $317,090,000 after purchasing an additional 340,838 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Stride by 61.0% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,277,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $200,799,000 after purchasing an additional 862,849 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stride in the fourth quarter valued at about $988,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Stride by 18,660.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 54,406 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,797,000 after buying an additional 54,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Stride by 5.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,750,646 shares of the company's stock worth $154,339,000 after buying an additional 90,851 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.24% of the company's stock.

Stride Stock Performance

Shares of LRN opened at $84.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 5.81 and a current ratio of 5.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.11. The company's fifty day moving average is $85.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.37. Stride, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.61 and a 1 year high of $171.17.

Stride (NYSE:LRN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.48. Stride had a net margin of 13.43% and a return on equity of 23.49%. The company had revenue of $636.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $626.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. Stride's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Stride, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LRN shares. William Blair lowered Stride from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Stride in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Stride in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.75.

About Stride

Stride, Inc NYSE: LRN is a technology-driven education company that designs and delivers online learning solutions for students and adult learners. Through long-term partnerships with state-authorized public school districts, Stride operates virtual academies that serve K-12 students across the United States. The company's blended-learning model combines digital curriculum, live teaching support and data analytics to personalize instruction and monitor student progress.

In addition to its K-12 offerings, Stride provides a portfolio of career and workforce readiness programs under its Stride Career Prep division.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LRN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source