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

Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 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 changing hands.

The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $504.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Stride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered shares of Stride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $77.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barrington Research increased their price target on shares of Stride from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Stride from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on Stride in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Three research 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stride

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Stride during the 1st quarter valued at about $111,377,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Stride during the first quarter worth approximately $60,385,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Stride in the second quarter worth approximately $43,387,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Stride by 1,443.6% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 479,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,836,000 after purchasing an additional 448,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Stride by 641.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 508,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,058,000 after purchasing an additional 439,911 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.24% of the company’s stock.

Stride Trading Up 2.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.51 and a 200-day moving average price 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.

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.