Stride (NYSE:LRN) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Stride (NYSE:LRN) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Stride from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Stride from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on shares of Stride in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Barrington Research lifted their price target on shares of Stride from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Stride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $77.00 to $90.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Stride Price Performance

NYSE:LRN traded up $25.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $89.72. The stock had a trading volume of 8,915,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 823,332. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.26. Stride has a 52 week low of $43.90 and a 52 week high of $89.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 4.95 and a current ratio of 5.10.

Stride (NYSE:LRN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.72. Stride had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The company had revenue of $551.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $504.29 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. Stride’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stride will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stride

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Motco purchased a new stake in shares of Stride in the first quarter valued at approximately $74,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Stride during the 1st quarter worth $77,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Stride during the 2nd quarter worth $78,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stride in the third quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Stride by 38.0% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the period. 98.24% of the stock is currently owned by 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.