Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Given New $36.50 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $34.50 to $36.50 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential downside of 7.67% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on LAUR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Laureate Education in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Barrington Research assumed coverage on shares of Laureate Education in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Laureate Education from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.90.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

Shares of LAUR traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $39.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 338,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,319,087. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $37.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. Laureate Education has a one year low of $24.98 and a one year high of $40.92.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $615.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $607.56 million. Laureate Education had a net margin of 17.57% and a return on equity of 23.54%. Laureate Education’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. Laureate Education has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.040-2.100 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Laureate Education will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Laureate Education

In other Laureate Education news, Director Ian Snow sold 427,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.26, for a total value of $15,483,708.94. Following the sale, the director owned 1,646,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,695,708.24. The trade was a 20.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 521,229 shares of company stock valued at $19,103,350 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laureate Education

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAUR. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 34.5% in the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 3,842,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,629,000 after acquiring an additional 984,671 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. lifted its position in shares of Laureate Education by 1.5% during the third quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 964,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,821,000 after purchasing an additional 14,717 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd grew its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 17.5% during the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 147,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,614,000 after purchasing an additional 21,872 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 33.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archford Capital Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 4.8% during the second quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 33,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,567 shares during the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Laureate Education Company Profile

Laureate Education, Inc is a provider of higher education services that operates universities and other postsecondary institutions. Through its network of institutions, the company offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs, professional education, and related academic services in fields such as business, health sciences, engineering, technology, and social sciences.

Laureate primarily serves students in Latin America, with operations in Mexico and Peru. Its institutions deliver programs through in-person, online, and blended learning formats, and are intended to serve both traditional university students and working professionals.

The company traces its roots to Sylvan Learning Systems, which expanded internationally and adopted the Laureate name in 2004.