Stride (NYSE:LRN) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $104.14 and last traded at $103.89, with a volume of 21551 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $102.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LRN. StockNews.com cut Stride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Stride from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Stride from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Barrington Research lifted their target price on shares of Stride from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Stride from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Stride presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.17.

Stride Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $86.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 5.50, a current ratio of 5.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Stride (NYSE:LRN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $551.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $504.29 million. Stride had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 21.23%. Stride’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. Research analysts expect that Stride, Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Stride

In related news, Director Todd Goldthwaite sold 8,028 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.54, for a total value of $734,883.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,058 shares in the company, valued at $7,786,209.32. The trade was a 8.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in shares of Stride by 15.7% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 14,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $884,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Stride by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Stride during the first quarter worth $555,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in Stride by 5.2% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 57,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,639,000 after purchasing an additional 2,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stride in the first quarter valued at about $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.24% of the company’s stock.

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.