Stride (NYSE:LRN) Upgraded to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Stride (NYSE:LRN) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, indicating increased investor confidence.
• Quarterly earnings showed Stride reported $2.29 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations and reflecting a 22.4% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Institutional investors now own 98.24% of Stride's stock, highlighting strong institutional backing and investment in the company.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stride (NYSE:LRN - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on LRN. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Stride from $148.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barrington Research lifted their price target on shares of Stride from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $146.40.

Stride Price Performance

Stride stock traded up $2.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $144.50. 290,956 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 777,776. The company has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.22. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $148.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.71. Stride has a 1 year low of $63.25 and a 1 year high of $171.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 5.27 and a current ratio of 5.39.

Stride (NYSE:LRN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $653.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $626.23 million. Stride had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 25.51%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Stride will post 6.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stride

In other Stride news, CEO James Jeaho Rhyu sold 13,961 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.66, for a total transaction of $2,270,896.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 706,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $114,895,378.98. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stride

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stride in the first quarter worth about $792,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new position in Stride in the 1st quarter valued at $461,000. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Stride by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,009,726 shares of the company's stock worth $127,730,000 after buying an additional 52,000 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Stride in the first quarter worth $326,000. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Stride during the first quarter worth about $273,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.24% of the company's stock.

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.