Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $102.88 and last traded at $102.47, with a volume of 481072 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PLNT. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Planet Fitness from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective (up from $91.00) on shares of Planet Fitness in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on Planet Fitness from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Planet Fitness from $87.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Planet Fitness from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.38.

Planet Fitness Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.84. The company has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.53.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $292.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.79 million. Planet Fitness had a net margin of 14.23% and a negative return on equity of 107.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Planet Fitness, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Planet Fitness

In other news, insider Jennifer Simmons sold 11,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total transaction of $1,101,778.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,110 shares in the company, valued at $1,838,382. The trade was a 37.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 5.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Planet Fitness

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Planet Fitness by 82.8% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 6,566 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Planet Fitness during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,118,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Planet Fitness by 60.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 191,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,122,000 after purchasing an additional 72,131 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Planet Fitness during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $266,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Planet Fitness by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 24,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.53% of the company’s stock.

About Planet Fitness

Planet Fitness, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates fitness centers under the Planet Fitness brand. The company operates through three segments: Franchise, Corporate-Owned Stores, and Equipment. The company is involved in franchising business in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, and Australia.