JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reiterates Neutral Rating for Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR)

Key Points

• JPMorgan reaffirmed its neutral rating on Laureate Education, maintaining a $41 price target—about 7% above the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $40.50; targets range from $34.50 to $45.00.
• Laureate exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.00 in EPS versus $0.96 expected and $615.9 million in revenue, up 17.5% year over year. Institutional investors own 96.27% of the company.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reissued by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $41.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.02% from the company's previous close.

LAUR has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Laureate Education from $37.50 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley downgraded Laureate Education from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $34.50 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Laureate Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barrington Research assumed coverage on shares of Laureate Education in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Laureate Education from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laureate Education presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.50.

Laureate Education Price Performance

LAUR opened at $38.31 on Monday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $36.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.67. The company has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.18, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.40. Laureate Education has a 1-year low of $21.53 and a 1-year high of $40.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $615.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $607.56 million. Laureate Education had a return on equity of 23.54% and a net margin of 17.57%.Laureate Education's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Laureate Education has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.040-2.100 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Laureate Education will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Laureate Education by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,403,265 shares of the company's stock worth $114,605,000 after acquiring an additional 92,571 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Laureate Education by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,272,264 shares of the company's stock worth $76,506,000 after buying an additional 105,712 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Laureate Education by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,654,708 shares of the company's stock worth $89,384,000 after purchasing an additional 915,358 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Laureate Education by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,266,565 shares of the company's stock worth $76,315,000 after purchasing an additional 811,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC raised its stake in Laureate Education by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,827,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,516,000 after buying an additional 123,525 shares during the last quarter. 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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