Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Stock Price Down 5.2% – What’s Next?

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR)’s share price traded down 5.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $33.61 and last traded at $33.38. 453,633 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 1,616,288 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LAUR shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Laureate Education from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Zacks Research raised Laureate Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Laureate Education from $32.00 to $36.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Laureate Education in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Laureate Education from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.63.

Laureate Education Stock Down 3.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50 day moving average is $34.08 and its 200 day moving average is $32.39.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76. Laureate Education had a return on equity of 23.50% and a net margin of 16.55%.The company had revenue of $541.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $527.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Laureate Education has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.030 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Laureate Education will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laureate Education

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAUR. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 103,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,503,000 after buying an additional 24,490 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Laureate Education in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $120,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Laureate Education in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Laureate Education by 53.9% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 15,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 5,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in Laureate Education by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 181,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,099,000 after acquiring an additional 12,924 shares in the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laureate Education Company Profile

Laureate Education, Inc (NASDAQ: LAUR) is a leading global network of higher education institutions dedicated to providing undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs to a diverse student body. The company designs and delivers academic offerings through a combination of campus-based and online platforms, focusing on fields such as business, health sciences, engineering, education and hospitality management. By aligning its curriculum with regional workforce needs, Laureate aims to equip students with practical skills and industry insights that support career advancement and lifelong learning.

Through its network, Laureate operates a broad portfolio of universities and colleges, including both longstanding campus institutions and digitally native programs.