First Eagle Investment Management LLC Acquires 176,000 Shares of LifeStance Health Group, Inc. $LFST

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,496,466 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 176,000 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in LifeStance Health Group were worth $10,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in LifeStance Health Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Park Edge Advisors LLC raised its position in LifeStance Health Group by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC now owns 11,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC purchased a new stake in LifeStance Health Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $72,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in LifeStance Health Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in LifeStance Health Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Institutional investors own 85.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at LifeStance Health Group

In related news, Director Darren M. Black sold 4,314,939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.01, for a total value of $30,247,722.39. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,209,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,760,529.76. This represents a 12.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Bessler sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.55, for a total value of $641,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,236,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,575,905.40. This trade represents a 5.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,464,939 shares of company stock worth $31,417,131. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LFST shares. Zacks Research upgraded LifeStance Health Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded LifeStance Health Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded LifeStance Health Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on LifeStance Health Group from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $10.00.

LifeStance Health Group Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ LFST opened at $7.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.48. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $6.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.74. LifeStance Health Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3.74 and a fifty-two week high of $8.89. The company has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 132.17 and a beta of 1.20.

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. LifeStance Health Group had a return on equity of 1.56% and a net margin of 1.55%.The company had revenue of $403.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $387.46 million. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LifeStance Health Group, Inc. will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

LifeStance Health Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 25th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About LifeStance Health Group

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) is a leading provider of outpatient mental health services in the United States. Headquartered in New York City, the company operates a growing network of clinics that deliver integrated, patient-centered psychological and psychiatric care. LifeStance’s mission is to expand access to high-quality mental health treatment by combining evidence-based therapy modalities with personalized treatment plans.

The company’s service offerings include individual, family, and group psychotherapy, psychiatric medication management, psychological assessment, and telehealth services.