StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Stock Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP)’s stock price passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.82 and traded as high as $47.68. StepStone Group shares last traded at $46.40, with a volume of 1,020,093 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STEP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen cut StepStone Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on StepStone Group from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $61.00 price objective on StepStone Group in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.11.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.20. The company has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.01 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.19.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $300.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.32 million. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 30.53% and a positive return on equity of 43.38%. As a group, research analysts expect that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of STEP. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $21,752,000. Junto Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of StepStone Group by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 1,078,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,614,000 after buying an additional 222,950 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 95.6% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 332,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,859,000 after buying an additional 162,467 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 53.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 414,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,791,000 after buying an additional 144,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advent International L.P. bought a new stake in shares of StepStone Group during the first quarter worth approximately $5,733,000. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

StepStone Group Company Profile

StepStone Group, Inc is a global investment firm focused on private markets. The company provides investment solutions and advisory services to institutional investors, family offices, and other clients seeking exposure to privately held and alternative assets.

Its activities include investments in private equity, venture capital, private debt, infrastructure, and real estate. StepStone builds customized portfolios through primary investments in funds, secondary-market transactions, and direct investments in companies and assets.