Short Interest in LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST) Expands By 32.8%

LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 10,322,332 shares, a growth of 32.8% from the February 12th total of 7,775,255 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,116,587 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,116,587 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Insider Transactions at LifeStance Health Group

In other LifeStance Health Group news, Director Robert Bessler sold 119,942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.04, for a total transaction of $844,391.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,318,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,285,640.32. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Darren M. Black sold 4,314,939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.01, for a total transaction of $30,247,722.39. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 29,209,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,760,529.76. This trade represents a 12.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505,395 shares of company stock valued at $31,580,780. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LFST. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of LifeStance Health Group by 63.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 70,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 27,244 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in LifeStance Health Group by 223.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 51,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 35,554 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in LifeStance Health Group by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 142,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $952,000 after buying an additional 4,169 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in LifeStance Health Group by 1.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 615,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,100,000 after acquiring an additional 11,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of LifeStance Health Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $219,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.50% of the company’s stock.

LifeStance Health Group Stock Performance

LFST remained flat at $6.33 during trading on Friday. 2,293,062 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,976,817. LifeStance Health Group has a 12-month low of $3.74 and a 12-month high of $8.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $7.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 316.66 and a beta of 1.11.

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $382.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $378.51 million. LifeStance Health Group had a net margin of 0.68% and a return on equity of 0.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.01) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that LifeStance Health Group will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LifeStance Health Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 25th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on LFST. Wall Street Zen raised LifeStance Health Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of LifeStance Health Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.83.

LifeStance Health Group Company Profile

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) is a leading provider of outpatient mental health services in the United States. Headquartered in New York City, the company operates a growing network of clinics that deliver integrated, patient-centered psychological and psychiatric care. LifeStance’s mission is to expand access to high-quality mental health treatment by combining evidence-based therapy modalities with personalized treatment plans.

The company’s service offerings include individual, family, and group psychotherapy, psychiatric medication management, psychological assessment, and telehealth services.