LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares gapped up: LFST opened at $7.72 after a $7.27 close and last traded near $7.456, while analysts have been raising ratings and targets — the consensus price target is $9.83 with an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• LifeStance missed quarterly EPS ($0.03 vs. $0.05 expected) but reported revenue of $382.2M (up 17.4% YoY and slightly above estimates), and the board authorized a $100 million buyback equal to about 3.6% of outstanding shares.
• Significant insider selling: Director Darren M. Black sold 4,314,939 shares (~$30.25M) on March 2, and insiders have sold roughly 4,389,939 shares (~$30.78M) in the last 90 days, leaving insiders with about 3.20% ownership.

LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $7.27, but opened at $7.72. LifeStance Health Group shares last traded at $7.4560, with a volume of 773,973 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LFST. Wall Street Zen upgraded LifeStance Health Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Barclays upped their price target on LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised LifeStance Health Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group lifted their target price on LifeStance Health Group from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on LifeStance Health Group from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, LifeStance Health Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $9.83.

LifeStance Health Group Stock Up 4.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.57. The stock has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 380.44 and a beta of 1.13.

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $382.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $378.51 million. LifeStance Health Group had a return on equity of 0.65% and a net margin of 0.68%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.01) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LifeStance Health Group, Inc. will post 0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LifeStance Health Group declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 25th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at LifeStance Health Group

In related news, Director Darren M. Black sold 4,314,939 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.01, for a total value of $30,247,722.39. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 29,209,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,760,529.76. This represents a 12.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Bessler sold 62,147 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.05, for a total transaction of $438,136.35. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,274,448 shares in the company, valued at $8,984,858.40. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,389,939 shares of company stock valued at $30,775,881. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in LifeStance Health Group by 19,952.6% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,810 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in LifeStance Health Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Krane Funds Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of LifeStance Health Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new position in shares of LifeStance Health Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in shares of LifeStance Health Group in the fourth quarter worth $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.50% of the company's stock.

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.

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.