LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) Sets New 12-Month High on Earnings Beat

Shares of LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $8.21 and last traded at $8.4190, with a volume of 1303223 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.36.

The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. LifeStance Health Group had a net margin of 0.68% and a return on equity of 0.65%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

LifeStance Health Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 25th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on LFST shares. UBS Group lifted their target price 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 raised their price target on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of LifeStance Health Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $9.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Darren M. Black sold 4,314,939 shares of LifeStance Health Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.01, for a total value of $30,247,722.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 29,209,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,760,529.76. The trade was a 12.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Bessler sold 62,147 shares of LifeStance Health Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.05, for a total transaction of $438,136.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,274,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,984,858.40. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 4,389,939 shares of company stock valued at $30,775,881 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LFST. Silversmith Partners I GP LLC purchased a new position in LifeStance Health Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $100,842,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of LifeStance Health Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $17,056,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of LifeStance Health Group by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,700,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,608,000 after purchasing an additional 3,086,506 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of LifeStance Health Group by 38.5% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 10,228,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,843,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of LifeStance Health Group by 62.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,793,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,839,465 shares in the last quarter. 85.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LifeStance Health Group Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $6.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 429.11 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.65.

About LifeStance Health Group

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.