LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JMP Securities Analyst Says

Key Points

• JMP Securities has raised its target price for LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) from $440.00 to $455.00, suggesting a potential upside of 38.73% from the current price.
• LPL Financial reported earnings of $4.51 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a 30.8% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a mix of ratings from various analysts, including one Strong Buy and ten Buys.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by investment analysts at JMP Securities from $440.00 to $455.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market outperform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. JMP Securities' price objective points to a potential upside of 38.73% from the stock's current price.

LPLA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $490.00 to $462.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, September 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $405.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, UBS Group set a $455.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $395.85.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $327.97 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $26.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.61. LPL Financial has a twelve month low of $242.94 and a twelve month high of $403.58. The company has a quick ratio of 3.22, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $349.77 and a 200 day moving average of $353.45.

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

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.42, for a total transaction of $235,815.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,304,265.40. This trade represents a 4.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total value of $28,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,016,497.50. This represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,830 shares of company stock valued at $1,333,105 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 116.2% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 123.1% during the 1st quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the second quarter worth about $34,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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.

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