LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) Stock Rating Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) was upgraded by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of LifeStance Health Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of LifeStance Health Group in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 target price for the company. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.83.

LifeStance Health Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LFST opened at $6.33 on Thursday. LifeStance Health Group has a 12 month low of $3.74 and a 12 month high of $8.09. The stock has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 316.66 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $7.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

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

LifeStance Health Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LifeStance Health Group news, insider Ann Varanakis sold 50,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider directly owned 315,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,177,709. This represents a 13.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Bessler sold 119,942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.04, for a total transaction of $844,391.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,318,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,285,640.32. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,505,395 shares of company stock worth $31,580,780. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LifeStance Health Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in LifeStance Health Group by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,613,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,374,000 after acquiring an additional 2,383,728 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN acquired a new stake in shares of LifeStance Health Group during the third quarter worth approximately $508,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in LifeStance Health Group by 259.1% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,360,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,031,000 after purchasing an additional 981,349 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of LifeStance Health Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $17,056,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of LifeStance Health Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $343,000. 85.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About LifeStance Health Group

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.