LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $9.54 and last traded at $9.44, with a volume of 2932327 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on LFST. Zacks Research upgraded shares of LifeStance Health Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of LifeStance Health Group in a research report on Friday, June 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $9.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on LifeStance Health Group from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on LifeStance Health Group from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.75.

LifeStance Health Group Trading Up 2.6%

The stock has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 157.33 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $403.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.46 million. LifeStance Health Group had a net margin of 1.55% and a return on equity of 1.56%. The business’s revenue was up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that LifeStance Health Group, Inc. will post 0.12 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Activity at LifeStance Health Group

In related news, Director Eric Shuey sold 243,362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.02, for a total transaction of $1,951,763.24. Following the sale, the director owned 867,562 shares in the company, valued at $6,957,847.24. This represents a 21.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Darren M. Black sold 5,899,661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.02, for a total transaction of $47,315,281.22. Following the sale, the director owned 23,310,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $186,947,122.30. This trade represents a 20.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 6,868,057 shares of company stock valued at $55,048,226 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LifeStance Health Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of LifeStance Health Group by 17.0% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of LifeStance Health Group by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC now owns 11,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 1,495 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in LifeStance Health Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 125,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,966 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in LifeStance Health Group by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 21,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 2,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance LLC boosted its stake in LifeStance Health Group by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 13,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 2,745 shares during the period. 85.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.