Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 3,086,506 Shares of LifeStance Health Group, Inc. $LFST

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST) by 21.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,700,041 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,086,506 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in LifeStance Health Group were worth $124,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in LifeStance Health Group by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 48,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 7,943 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in LifeStance Health Group by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 32,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 5,789 shares during the last quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,495 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in LifeStance Health Group by 162.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 60,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 37,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co. bought a new position in LifeStance Health Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $132,000. Institutional investors own 85.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other LifeStance Health Group news, Director Darren M. Black sold 4,314,939 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 29,209,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,760,529.76. This represents a 12.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Bessler sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.55, for a total transaction of $641,250.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,236,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,575,905.40. The trade was a 5.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,464,939 shares of company stock worth $31,417,131. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of LifeStance Health Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of LifeStance Health Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $10.00.

LifeStance Health Group Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:LFST opened at $7.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $6.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 132.17 and a beta of 1.20. LifeStance Health Group, Inc. has a one year low of $3.74 and a one year high of $8.89.

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $403.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $387.46 million. LifeStance Health Group had a net margin of 1.55% and a return on equity of 1.56%. The firm’s revenue was up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that LifeStance Health Group, Inc. will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LifeStance Health Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 25th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

LifeStance Health Group 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.