Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) Stock

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) had its price target raised by Barclays from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 29.87% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on LFST. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of LifeStance Health Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on LifeStance Health Group from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on LifeStance Health Group from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on LifeStance Health Group from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.83.

LifeStance Health Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LFST opened at $6.93 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $7.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.27. LifeStance Health Group has a 1-year low of $3.74 and a 1-year high of $8.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 346.67 and a beta of 1.11.

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.02). LifeStance Health Group had a net margin of 0.68% and a return on equity of 0.65%. The firm had revenue of $382.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $378.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LifeStance Health Group will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

LifeStance Health Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other LifeStance Health Group news, Director Robert Bessler sold 119,942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.04, for a total transaction of $844,391.68. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,318,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,285,640.32. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ann Varanakis sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.90, for a total transaction of $345,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 315,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,177,709. This trade represents a 13.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 4,585,025 shares of company stock worth $32,138,986 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LifeStance Health Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in LifeStance Health Group by 63.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 70,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 27,244 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in LifeStance Health Group by 223.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 51,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 35,554 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in LifeStance Health Group by 3.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 142,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $952,000 after purchasing an additional 4,169 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in LifeStance Health Group by 1.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 615,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,100,000 after purchasing an additional 11,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in LifeStance Health Group by 22.1% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 1,210,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,261,000 after purchasing an additional 218,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.50% of the company’s stock.

LifeStance Health Group Company Profile

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) is a leading provider of outpatient mental health services in the United States. Headquartered in New York City, the company operates a growing network of clinics that deliver integrated, patient-centered psychological and psychiatric care. LifeStance’s mission is to expand access to high-quality mental health treatment by combining evidence-based therapy modalities with personalized treatment plans.

The company’s service offerings include individual, family, and group psychotherapy, psychiatric medication management, psychological assessment, and telehealth services.