Stride (NYSE:LRN) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Stride (NYSE:LRN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stride in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barrington Research increased their price objective on Stride from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Stride from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Stride in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.83.

Stride Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LRN traded up $6.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $158.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,354,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 846,921. Stride has a 52 week low of $63.25 and a 52 week high of $162.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 6.02 and a quick ratio of 5.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a PE ratio of 26.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $142.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.12.

Stride (NYSE:LRN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $613.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $591.15 million. Stride had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 22.42%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stride will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LRN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Stride by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,673,393 shares of the company's stock worth $485,706,000 after acquiring an additional 69,888 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Stride by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,467,019 shares of the company's stock worth $256,397,000 after purchasing an additional 375,686 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Stride by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,493,709 shares of the company's stock worth $155,251,000 after purchasing an additional 323,275 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in Stride by 102.2% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,169,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $147,973,000 after buying an additional 591,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Stride by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 970,395 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,877,000 after buying an additional 5,694 shares in the last quarter. 98.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stride Company Profile

Stride, Inc, a technology-based education service company, engages in the provision of proprietary and third-party online curriculum, software systems, and educational services in the United States and internationally. Its technology-based products and services enable clients to attract, enroll, educate, track progress, support, and facilitate individualized learning for students.