Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Stock Breaks Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) shares passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $35.60 and traded as low as $33.15. Laureate Education shares last traded at $33.22, with a volume of 3,219,937 shares.

Trending Headlines about Laureate Education

Here are the key news stories impacting Laureate Education this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue rose 21% year over year to $485.1 million, topping the $480.2 million consensus estimate. Adjusted EPS increased to $0.52 from $0.25 a year earlier and exceeded expectations of $0.48. Laureate Education Q3 earnings and revenues top estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability improved substantially: net income reached $101.2 million versus $34.4 million in the prior-year quarter, operating income rose to $119.1 million, and adjusted EBITDA increased to $146.8 million from $94.8 million. New enrollments grew 9%, while total enrollment increased 6%. Laureate Education third-quarter financial results
• Positive Sentiment: Laureate added $150 million to its share-repurchase authorization, leaving approximately $225.2 million available for buybacks. Repurchases could support per-share earnings and signal management’s confidence in the company’s valuation. Laureate adds $150 million to buyback authorization
• Neutral Sentiment: Management reaffirmed its 2026 revenue outlook of $1.92 billion to $1.93 billion and its full-year earnings guidance rather than raising expectations. This suggests execution remains on track, but may provide limited fresh upside after the earnings beat. Laureate reaffirms fiscal 2026 outlook
• Negative Sentiment: The negative investor response likely reflects high expectations already embedded in LAUR’s valuation and the lack of an increased outlook. The stock had also been trading well above its 200-day moving average before the results, increasing the potential for profit-taking despite the strong quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LAUR shares. Barrington Research assumed coverage on Laureate Education in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Laureate Education from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Laureate Education from $34.50 to $36.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Laureate Education from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.90.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $37.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.60.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. Laureate Education had a return on equity of 26.41% and a net margin of 20.28%. The firm had revenue of $485.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $480.16 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. Laureate Education’s revenue was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Laureate Education will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Laureate Education

In other news, Director Ian Snow sold 427,019 shares of Laureate Education stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.26, for a total value of $15,483,708.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,646,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,695,708.24. This trade represents a 20.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 521,229 shares of company stock valued at $19,103,350. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Laureate Education

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its stake in Laureate Education by 11.0% in the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 20,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Laureate Education by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Laureate Education by 116.2% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Laureate Education by 824.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 3,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laureate Education in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.27% of the company’s stock.

Laureate Education Company Profile

Laureate Education, Inc is a higher education company that operates a network of universities and other learning institutions. Its institutions provide undergraduate and graduate degree programs, professional education, and online and hybrid learning options across fields such as business, health sciences, engineering, technology, and the social sciences.

The company currently serves students primarily in Mexico and Peru. Its Mexican institutions include Universidad del Valle de México (UVM) and Universidad Tecnológica de México (UNITEC), while its Peruvian institutions include Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC) and Universidad Privada del Norte (UPN).