Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $30.44, but opened at $26.41. Laureate Education shares last traded at $29.6740, with a volume of 632,945 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on LAUR. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Laureate Education from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Laureate Education in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Laureate Education from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laureate Education currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.67.

Laureate Education Trading Down 1.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average is $29.85 and its 200-day moving average is $25.76.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.10). Laureate Education had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 22.99%. The company had revenue of $400.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.77 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Laureate Education has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Laureate Education will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laureate Education declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laureate Education

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAUR. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Laureate Education by 4.7% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Laureate Education by 43.3% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 25,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 7,813 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. acquired a new position in Laureate Education during the 1st quarter valued at about $201,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in Laureate Education by 260.1% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 3,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Laureate Education by 171.0% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 63,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 39,808 shares in the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.