JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Stock

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase raised its price target on Laureate Education to $41.50 (from $40) and maintained an overweight rating, implying roughly a 24.19% upside from the prior close.
• Analysts are broadly positive overall: the consensus rating is Buy with an average price target of $38.88, supported by recent target upgrades from BMO, UBS, Morgan Stanley and Weiss.
• Laureate beat revenue expectations with $541.4M in the quarter (up 27.9% YoY) while EPS matched estimates at $0.76, and the company set FY2026 guidance of 1.95–2.03 EPS.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $40.00 to $41.50 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would suggest a potential upside of 24.19% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on LAUR. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Laureate Education from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Laureate Education in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Laureate Education from $32.00 to $36.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Laureate Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Laureate Education from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laureate Education currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.88.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

LAUR stock traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.42. 1,034,486 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,174,684. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 0.59. Laureate Education has a 52-week low of $17.91 and a 52-week high of $37.91. The stock's 50-day moving average is $34.25 and its 200 day moving average is $31.70.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76. Laureate Education had a return on equity of 23.50% and a net margin of 16.55%.The company had revenue of $541.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $527.10 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. Laureate Education's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Laureate Education has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.030 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Laureate Education will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Laureate Education

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Laureate Education in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Laureate Education in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Laureate Education by 109.0% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,097 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Laureate Education by 328.6% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laureate Education during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.27% of the company's stock.

Laureate Education Company Profile

Laureate Education, Inc NASDAQ: LAUR is a leading global network of higher education institutions dedicated to providing undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs to a diverse student body. The company designs and delivers academic offerings through a combination of campus-based and online platforms, focusing on fields such as business, health sciences, engineering, education and hospitality management. By aligning its curriculum with regional workforce needs, Laureate aims to equip students with practical skills and industry insights that support career advancement and lifelong learning.

Through its network, Laureate operates a broad portfolio of universities and colleges, including both longstanding campus institutions and digitally native programs.

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