Stride (NYSE:LRN) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $64.49, but opened at $84.53. Stride shares last traded at $83.69, with a volume of 1,674,063 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $551.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $504.29 million. Stride had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Stride from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup cut shares of Stride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $90.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Stride in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. Barrington Research raised their price objective on shares of Stride from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Stride from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.50.

Institutional Trading of Stride

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Stride by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 29,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,830,000 after buying an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Stride by 5.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 231,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,582,000 after acquiring an additional 11,495 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Stride by 17.0% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,971,000 after acquiring an additional 4,546 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Stride by 48.9% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 105,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,698,000 after purchasing an additional 34,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in Stride by 1.4% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 34,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,196,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. 98.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stride Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.80. The company has a current ratio of 5.10, a quick ratio of 4.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.26.

Stride Company Profile

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.