Stride Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:LRN)

Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 3,618 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 170% compared to the typical volume of 1,340 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Stride in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stride from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Stride from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Stride in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Stride from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stride

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Stride by 48.9% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 105,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,698,000 after acquiring an additional 34,682 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Stride during the 1st quarter valued at $555,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Stride by 795.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $814,000 after buying an additional 10,254 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Stride during the second quarter worth $534,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Stride during the first quarter valued at $5,402,000. Institutional investors own 98.24% of the company’s stock.

Stride Price Performance

Shares of Stride stock traded up $19.83 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $84.32. 2,479,312 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 791,943. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 5.10 and a quick ratio of 4.95. The company has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.26. Stride has a 52-week low of $43.90 and a 52-week high of $88.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.54.

Stride (NYSE:LRN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $551.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $504.29 million. Stride had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.01%. The company’s revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Stride will post 5.05 EPS for the current year.

About Stride

Stride, Inc, a technology-based education service company, engages in the provision of proprietary and third-party online curriculum, software systems, and educational services in the United States and internationally. Its technology-based products and services enable clients to attract, enroll, educate, track progress, support, and facilitate individualized learning for students.