Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Price

Key Points

• Analysts at Barclays have lowered LPL Financial's price target from $463.00 to $460.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating, which suggests a potential upside of 26.21% from its previous close.
• Other firms have mixed opinions, with TD Cowen downgrading the stock to a "hold" rating, while Morgan Stanley raised their target price to $490.00, indicating strong interest from various analysts.
• LPL Financial reported strong quarterly earnings, with $4.51 EPS surpassing expectations and revenue up 30.8% year-over-year, demonstrating solid performance despite the recent price target cuts.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Barclays from $463.00 to $460.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Barclays's price target would indicate a potential upside of 38.14% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $490.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $406.00 to $403.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $383.33.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock traded down $27.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $332.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,643,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 622,539. The firm's fifty day moving average is $371.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $355.05. The company has a market capitalization of $26.64 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.66. LPL Financial has a 52-week low of $204.41 and a 52-week high of $403.58. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 39.80%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.88 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total value of $28,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,582 shares in the company, valued at $2,016,497.50. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total value of $561,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,151,836. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,080 shares of company stock valued at $1,163,920 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter valued at $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 116.2% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 123.1% during the first quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at $34,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.