Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $40.70 and last traded at $40.4050, with a volume of 14785 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $40.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised Laureate Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Laureate Education from $37.50 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research lowered Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Laureate Education from $41.50 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Laureate Education from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laureate Education presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.88.

Laureate Education Trading Down 0.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.34.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.07. Laureate Education had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 22.07%. The company had revenue of $272.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.13) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Laureate Education has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.080 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Laureate Education will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Laureate Education

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 1,060.2% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,101,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,888,000 after buying an additional 4,661,417 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Laureate Education by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,403,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,605,000 after buying an additional 92,571 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Laureate Education by 3.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,272,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,506,000 after acquiring an additional 105,712 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Laureate Education by 52.6% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,654,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,384,000 after acquiring an additional 915,358 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Laureate Education by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,266,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,315,000 after acquiring an additional 811,108 shares in the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Laureate Education

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.