Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR – Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $17.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 17.40% from the company’s previous close.
Laureate Education Trading Down 6.4 %
Shares of NASDAQ LAUR traded down $0.99 during trading on Friday, hitting $14.48. 943,756 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 745,780. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.26. Laureate Education has a 1 year low of $12.32 and a 1 year high of $16.60.
Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.12). Laureate Education had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 8.19%. The company had revenue of $275.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $269.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.17) EPS. Laureate Education’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Laureate Education will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.
Insider Transactions at Laureate Education
In other Laureate Education news, Director Corro Pedro Del sold 5,957 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.31, for a total value of $97,158.67. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $762,149.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Laureate Education news, Director Ian Kendell Snow sold 2,114,928 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.64, for a total value of $30,962,545.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Corro Pedro Del sold 5,957 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.31, for a total transaction of $97,158.67. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $762,149.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,122,190 shares of company stock valued at $31,080,297. Corporate insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laureate Education
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Laureate Education by 1.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,986,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,205,000 after acquiring an additional 187,400 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates acquired a new stake in Laureate Education during the fourth quarter worth about $316,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Laureate Education in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $980,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 7,875 shares during the period. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laureate Education in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $873,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.27% of the company’s stock.
About Laureate Education
Laureate Education, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers higher education programs and services to students through a network of universities and higher education institutions. The company provides a range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the areas of business and management, medicine and health sciences, and engineering and information technology through campus-based, online, and hybrid programs.
See Also
Before you consider Laureate Education, you’ll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street’s top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on… and Laureate Education wasn’t on the list.
While Laureate Education currently has a “Buy” rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
Market downturns give many investors pause, and for good reason. Wondering how to offset this risk? Click the link below to learn more about using beta to protect yourself.
Source: marketbeat.com
