LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Key Points

• JPMorgan raised its price target on LifeStance Health Group from $8 to $9 while keeping a neutral rating, implying about 14.6% upside from the current price.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $0.04 versus $0.01 expected and revenue of $403.48 million, up 21.2% year over year.
• LifeStance also approved a $100 million share repurchase program, but recent insider selling was notable, including large sales by directors Darren M. Black and Robert Bessler.

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price indicates a potential upside of 14.58% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of LifeStance Health Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised LifeStance Health Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on LifeStance Health Group from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised LifeStance Health Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $9.86.

LifeStance Health Group Stock Performance

LifeStance Health Group stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Thursday, reaching $7.86. The company had a trading volume of 2,099,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,247,903. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $6.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.92 and a beta of 1.20. LifeStance Health Group has a 52 week low of $3.74 and a 52 week 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.

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.46 million. LifeStance Health Group had a net margin of 1.55% and a return on equity of 1.56%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that LifeStance Health Group will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LifeStance Health Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LifeStance Health Group news, Director Darren M. Black sold 4,314,939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.01, for a total transaction of $30,247,722.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 29,209,776 shares in the company, valued at $204,760,529.76. This trade represents a 12.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert Bessler sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.55, for a total value of $641,250.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,236,948 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,575,905.40. This represents a 5.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,464,939 shares of company stock worth $31,417,131. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LifeStance Health Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in LifeStance Health Group by 19,952.6% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV bought a new position in LifeStance Health Group during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in LifeStance Health Group during the second quarter valued at $52,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in LifeStance Health Group by 615.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 7,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in LifeStance Health Group by 17.0% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.50% of the company's stock.

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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