LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) Hits New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• LifeStance Health Group shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $8.89 and ending up about 4.7% on the day. The move came as the stock continued to trade above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on LFST, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.75. Recent updates included higher targets from Canaccord and JPMorgan, while Zacks upgraded the stock to “strong-buy.”
• Recent fundamentals and corporate actions support the story: the company beat earnings and revenue estimates in its latest quarter, and its board authorized a $100 million share buyback. However, insiders have also sold a large amount of stock in recent months.

LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $8.89 and last traded at $8.8650, with a volume of 657996 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LFST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of LifeStance Health Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered LifeStance Health Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of LifeStance Health Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $9.75.

LifeStance Health Group Trading Up 4.7%

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $7.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 150.75 and a beta of 1.19.

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $403.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $387.46 million. LifeStance Health Group had a return on equity of 1.56% and a net margin of 1.55%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LifeStance Health Group, Inc. will post 0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LifeStance Health Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 25th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LifeStance Health Group news, Director Robert Bessler sold 575,034 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.02, for a total transaction of $4,611,772.68. Following the transaction, the director owned 986,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,915,186.62. This trade represents a 36.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Darren M. Black sold 5,899,661 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.02, for a total transaction of $47,315,281.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 23,310,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $186,947,122.30. This represents a 20.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 6,868,057 shares of company stock worth $55,048,226 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LifeStance Health Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of LifeStance Health Group by 17.0% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,419 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares in the last quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC grew its stake in LifeStance Health Group by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC now owns 11,863 shares of the company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 1,495 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in LifeStance Health Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 125,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 1,966 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in LifeStance Health Group by 12.7% in the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 21,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 2,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance LLC raised its stake in LifeStance Health Group by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 13,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 2,745 shares during the last quarter. 85.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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