Morgan Stanley Lowers Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) to Equal Weight

Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $17.00 target price on the stock.

Laureate Education Stock Down 6.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ LAUR opened at $14.48 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.57 and a beta of 0.79. Laureate Education has a 52-week low of $12.32 and a 52-week high of $16.60.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $275.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $269.35 million. Laureate Education had a net margin of 8.19% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.17) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Laureate Education will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laureate Education

In other news, Director Ian Kendell Snow sold 2,114,928 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.64, for a total transaction of $30,962,545.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Ian Kendell Snow sold 2,114,928 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.64, for a total transaction of $30,962,545.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Corro Pedro Del sold 5,957 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.31, for a total value of $97,158.67. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $762,149.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,122,190 shares of company stock valued at $31,080,297 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laureate Education

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LAUR. Quarry LP increased its stake in Laureate Education by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Laureate Education by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Laureate Education by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 7,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Laureate Education in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $151,000. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in Laureate Education in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $195,000. 96.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laureate Education Company Profile

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.