Short Interest in Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Drops By 30.0%

Key Points

• Short interest in Laureate Education decreased by 30.0% to 2,220,000 shares as of September 30th, reflecting a significant drop from the previous total.
• Institutional investors now own 96.27% of the company, indicating strong financial backing and interest from large investment firms.
• Analysts have adjusted their ratings, with Zacks and Wall Street Zen reducing Laureate Education's rating but most maintaining a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $30.33.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,220,000 shares, a drop of 30.0% from the September 15th total of 3,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laureate Education

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAUR. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 3.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,598 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS grew its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 0.5% during the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 113,443 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,652,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 2.8% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 23,513 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 11.8% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 6,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 0.5% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 126,399 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,955,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut Laureate Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Laureate Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Laureate Education in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Laureate Education from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Laureate Education in a research report on Friday, September 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.33.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

LAUR traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $29.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,066,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 903,534. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.57. The company has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52 and a beta of 0.63. Laureate Education has a 1 year low of $15.15 and a 1 year high of $31.74.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $524.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $502.00 million. Laureate Education had a return on equity of 29.46% and a net margin of 16.41%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Laureate Education has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Laureate Education will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laureate Education Company Profile

Laureate Education, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers higher education programs and services to students through a network of universities and higher education institutions. The company provides a range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the areas of business and management, medicine and health sciences, and engineering and information technology through campus-based, online, and hybrid programs.

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