Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $37.94 and last traded at $37.9860, with a volume of 804756 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAUR has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Laureate Education from $37.50 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Laureate Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Zacks Research cut shares of Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Laureate Education from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Laureate Education from $32.00 to $36.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.88.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $33.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.07. Laureate Education had a return on equity of 22.07% and a net margin of 16.08%.The company had revenue of $272.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $265.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Laureate Education has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.080 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Laureate Education will post 2.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laureate Education

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 1,060.2% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,101,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,888,000 after buying an additional 4,661,417 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,403,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,605,000 after buying an additional 92,571 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 3.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,272,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,506,000 after buying an additional 105,712 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 52.6% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,654,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,384,000 after buying an additional 915,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,266,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,315,000 after purchasing an additional 811,108 shares during the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laureate Education Company Profile

Laureate Education, Inc (NASDAQ: LAUR) is a leading global network of higher education institutions dedicated to providing undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs to a diverse student body. The company designs and delivers academic offerings through a combination of campus-based and online platforms, focusing on fields such as business, health sciences, engineering, education and hospitality management. By aligning its curriculum with regional workforce needs, Laureate aims to equip students with practical skills and industry insights that support career advancement and lifelong learning.

Through its network, Laureate operates a broad portfolio of universities and colleges, including both longstanding campus institutions and digitally native programs.