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

Stride (NYSE:LRN) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Stride in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Stride from $148.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Stride in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.40.

Stride Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE LRN opened at $143.66 on Friday. Stride has a 1 year low of $63.25 and a 1 year high of $171.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $151.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.15. The firm has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.07. 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) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.46. Stride had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 25.51%. The firm had revenue of $653.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $626.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. Stride’s revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stride will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Stride

In related news, CEO James Jeaho Rhyu sold 13,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.66, for a total value of $2,270,896.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 706,353 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Stride

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Stride in the first quarter valued at $792,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stride in the 1st quarter valued at about $461,000. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Stride by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,009,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,730,000 after purchasing an additional 52,000 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of Stride in the 1st quarter valued at about $326,000. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in Stride during the first quarter valued at approximately $273,000. 98.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.