Stride (NYSE:LRN) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 2,168,723 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 188% from the previous session’s volume of 753,989 shares.The stock last traded at $64.94 and had previously closed at $64.04.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LRN shares. Citigroup lowered 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 report on Tuesday, August 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Stride in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Stride from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com raised Stride from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Stride in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Stride has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.83.

Stride Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $80.47 and a 200 day moving average of $72.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 5.10 and a quick ratio of 4.95.

Stride (NYSE:LRN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $534.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $525.89 million. Stride had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.01%. Stride’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stride, Inc. will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stride

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Stride during the third quarter worth approximately $329,000. Creative Planning boosted its position in Stride by 42.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Stride by 58.5% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 6,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 2,426 shares in the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Stride during the third quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in Stride by 24.6% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 36,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,071,000 after purchasing an additional 7,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.