Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) Shares Gap Up to $3.07

Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.07, but opened at $3.24. Leslie’s shares last traded at $2.89, with a volume of 246,506 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LESL. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Leslie’s from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $5.25 to $2.50 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Leslie’s from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Leslie’s from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Leslie’s from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Leslie’s from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.96.

Leslie’s Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.96. The stock has a market cap of $460.93 million, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.16.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. Leslie’s had a negative return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 1.06%. The firm had revenue of $569.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $569.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Leslie’s, Inc. will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Leslie’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 16,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 7.4% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 35,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 1.7% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 160,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 4.1% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 82,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 63,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 3,947 shares during the last quarter.

About Leslie’s

Leslie's, Inc operates as a direct-to-consumer pool and spa care brand in the United States. The company markets and sells pool and spa supplies and related products and services. It also offers various pool and spa maintenance items, such as chemicals, equipment and parts, cleaning and maintenance equipment, safety, recreational, and fitness related products.