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

Shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty 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 trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on STEP. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on StepStone Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on StepStone Group from $58.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on StepStone Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Friday, August 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, StepStone Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.11.

StepStone Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.01 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.20.

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

Institutional Trading of StepStone Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in StepStone Group by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 16,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in StepStone Group by 1.2% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 18,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $870,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in StepStone Group by 45.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in StepStone Group by 8.8% in the first quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in StepStone Group by 2.5% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $823,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

About StepStone Group

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.