LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) Upgraded to Hold at The Goldman Sachs Group

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs upgraded LifeStance Health Group to a Hold rating, adding to a generally positive analyst backdrop. MarketBeat data shows a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $9.75.
• The stock was down 3.0% and opened at $7.41, below the consensus price target but near its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. LifeStance has a market cap of about $2.87 billion and a 1-year range of $3.74 to $8.89.
• The company reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, posting $0.04 EPS on revenue of $403.48 million, which was up 21.2% year over year. LifeStance also authorized a $100 million share repurchase program, though recent insider sales were significant.

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group to a "hold" rating in a report released on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LFST. Jefferies Financial Group raised LifeStance Health Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research upgraded LifeStance Health Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. KeyCorp raised their target price on LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of LifeStance Health Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on LifeStance Health Group from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $9.75.

LifeStance Health Group Stock Down 3.0%

LFST stock opened at $7.41 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $7.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. LifeStance Health Group has a 1-year low of $3.74 and a 1-year high of $8.89. The stock has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 123.50 and a beta of 1.19.

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.03. LifeStance Health Group had a return on equity of 1.56% and a net margin of 1.55%.The firm had revenue of $403.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $387.46 million. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that LifeStance Health Group will post 0.12 EPS for the current year.

LifeStance Health Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LifeStance Health Group news, Director Darren M. Black sold 5,899,661 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.02, for a total value of $47,315,281.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,310,115 shares in the company, valued at $186,947,122.30. This represents a 20.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eric Shuey sold 243,362 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.02, for a total value of $1,951,763.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 867,562 shares in the company, valued at $6,957,847.24. This represents a 21.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 6,868,057 shares of company stock worth $55,048,226 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LifeStance Health Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 3,791 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV bought a new position in LifeStance Health Group in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in LifeStance Health Group by 359.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,909 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 5,404 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in LifeStance Health Group by 615.3% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,285 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 7,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in LifeStance Health Group by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,419 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. 85.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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