Stride (NYSE:LRN) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Stride (NYSE:LRN) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

LRN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Stride in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research lowered Stride from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Stride in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Stride in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Stride from $130.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.75.

Stride Price Performance

NYSE LRN opened at $84.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 6.69, a current ratio of 7.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.06. Stride has a 52 week low of $60.61 and a 52 week high of $171.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.92.

Stride (NYSE:LRN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $620.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $615.50 million. Stride had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 26.18%. Stride’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. Research analysts predict that Stride will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Stride by 67.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,611,000 after purchasing an additional 11,481 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Stride by 80.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 2,291 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stride by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,303,000 after buying an additional 2,008 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stride by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 134,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,009,000 after buying an additional 32,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Stride by 62.7% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.24% of the company’s stock.

About Stride

Stride, Inc (NYSE:LRN) is a technology-driven education company that designs and delivers online learning solutions for students and adult learners. Through long-term partnerships with state-authorized public school districts, Stride operates virtual academies that serve K-12 students across the United States. The company’s blended-learning model combines digital curriculum, live teaching support and data analytics to personalize instruction and monitor student progress.

In addition to its K-12 offerings, Stride provides a portfolio of career and workforce readiness programs under its Stride Career Prep division.