Morgan Stanley Lowers StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Price Target to $51.00

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) had its target price lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $66.00 to $51.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 9.37% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on StepStone Group from $69.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.21.

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of StepStone Group stock traded up $0.29 on Monday, hitting $46.63. 197,156 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 656,788. The company has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.59 and a beta of 1.36. StepStone Group has a one year low of $34.64 and a one year high of $70.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $55.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total transaction of $614,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 110,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,757,300. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Anthony Keathley sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $33,894.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,318. This represents a 27.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 18.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StepStone Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of STEP. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of StepStone Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of StepStone Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Amundi grew its position in StepStone Group by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. 55.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About StepStone Group

StepStone Group Inc is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in direct, fund of funds, secondary direct, and secondary indirect investments. For direct investment, it seeks to invest in private debt, venture debt, incubation, mezzanine, distressed/vulture, seed/startup, early venture, mid venture, late venture, emerging growth, later stage, turnaround, growth capital, industry consolidation, recapitalization, buyout investments in mature and middle market companies.