Stride (NYSE:LRN) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $115.42 and last traded at $114.82, with a volume of 218361 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LRN. Barrington Research lifted their target price on Stride from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Stride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Stride from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Stride from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. 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, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.50.

Stride Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $105.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.04. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $551.08 million for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Stride, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Stride

In other Stride news, Director Todd Goldthwaite sold 8,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 85,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,786,209.32. This trade represents a 8.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Stride

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LRN. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Stride by 2.9% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 149,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,509,000 after buying an additional 4,191 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Stride in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,002,000. Kendall Capital Management increased its holdings in Stride by 89.8% in the 2nd quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 14,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 7,010 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Stride by 0.6% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 40,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp acquired a new position in Stride during the 2nd quarter worth about $205,000. 98.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.