Stride (NYSE:LRN) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $115.42 and last traded at $114.82, with a volume of 218361 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LRN. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Stride from $94.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Stride from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Stride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barrington Research upped their target price on Stride from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Stride from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.50.

Stride Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.52. The firm has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 5.60, a quick ratio of 5.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Stride (NYSE:LRN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $551.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $504.29 million. Stride had a return on equity of 21.23% and a net margin of 11.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Stride, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Todd Goldthwaite sold 8,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.54, for a total value of $734,883.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 85,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,786,209.32. This trade represents a 8.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stride

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LRN. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stride in the third quarter worth $86,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in Stride by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Stride during the 4th quarter worth about $205,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Stride by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in shares of Stride by 24.2% in the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. 98.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Stride

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.