Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock

Key Points

• Barclays increased its price target for LPL Financial's stock from $460 to $463, indicating a potential upside of 22.61% from its current price.
• While Barclays maintains an "overweight" rating, other firms like TD Cowen and Citigroup issued downgrades, with Citigroup setting a price objective of $80.
• LPL Financial reported a quarterly earnings per share of $4.51, surpassing estimates and showing a 30.8% revenue increase year-over-year.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at Barclays from $460.00 to $463.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Barclays's price target indicates a potential upside of 23.82% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on LPLA. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $490.00 price objective (up from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $383.58.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $0.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $373.92. 532,372 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 823,676. The business's 50 day moving average is $378.57 and its 200-day moving average is $355.27. The company has a market capitalization of $29.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. LPL Financial has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 47.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.63, for a total value of $573,945.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,889,830.60. This trade represents a 6.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 301 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,166,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 229 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

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.