Insider Selling: LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) Director Sells 575,034 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Robert Bessler sold 575,034 LifeStance Health Group shares on May 12 at an average price of $8.02, worth about $4.61 million. The sale cut his ownership by 36.81%, and he still holds 986,931 shares.
• LifeStance reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results, posting $0.04 EPS versus the $0.01 estimate and revenue of $403.48 million, up 21.2% year over year. The company also has a $100 million share buyback authorization in place.
• Analysts remain generally positive on LFST, with a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $9.86. Several firms recently raised their targets, including BTIG to $12 and UBS to $12.

LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST - Get Free Report) Director Robert Bessler sold 575,034 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.02, for a total value of $4,611,772.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 986,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,915,186.62. The trade was a 36.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Robert Bessler also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, May 7th, Robert Bessler sold 75,000 shares of LifeStance Health Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.55, for a total value of $641,250.00.
• On Friday, April 24th, Robert Bessler sold 62,147 shares of LifeStance Health Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.05, for a total value of $438,136.35.
• On Thursday, April 23rd, Robert Bessler sold 7,752 shares of LifeStance Health Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.00, for a total value of $54,264.00.
• On Tuesday, April 21st, Robert Bessler sold 5,101 shares of LifeStance Health Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.01, for a total value of $35,758.01.

LifeStance Health Group Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of LFST traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $7.89. 5,260,978 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,283,413. The firm has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 131.50 and a beta of 1.20. LifeStance Health Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.74 and a 12-month high of $8.89. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $6.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.76.

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. LifeStance Health Group had a net margin of 1.55% and a return on equity of 1.56%. The company had revenue of $403.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $387.46 million. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that LifeStance Health Group, Inc. will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

LifeStance Health Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase 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 shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of LifeStance Health Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of LifeStance Health Group by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,613,535 shares of the company's stock worth $80,374,000 after buying an additional 2,383,728 shares during the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in LifeStance Health Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $787,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in LifeStance Health Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,040,000. Integral Health Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in LifeStance Health Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $8,250,000. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in LifeStance Health Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $17,056,000. 85.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LFST. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on LifeStance Health Group from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. BTIG Research increased their price target on LifeStance Health Group from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on LifeStance Health Group from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $9.86.

About LifeStance Health Group

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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