New Oriental Education & Technology Group (NYSE:EDU) Trading Up 4.5% – Still a Buy?

New Oriental Education & Technology Group, Inc. (NYSE:EDU) shares traded up 4.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $58.34 and last traded at $58.5780. 106,354 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 797,974 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on EDU shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. New Street Research set a $56.50 target price on shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $67.00 to $65.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.92.

New Oriental Education & Technology Group Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $9.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $55.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Oriental Education & Technology Group

In related news, Director Yue Zhuge sold 1,600 shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.55, for a total transaction of $95,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,100. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Chenggang Zhou sold 56,948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.83, for a total transaction of $3,236,354.84. Following the transaction, the director owned 429,998 shares in the company, valued at $24,436,786.34. The trade was a 11.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 72,170 shares of company stock worth $4,100,348. Insiders own 15.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On New Oriental Education & Technology Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in New Oriental Education & Technology Group by 185.2% in the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 93,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,286,000 after buying an additional 60,611 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in New Oriental Education & Technology Group in the first quarter worth approximately $18,528,000. Aubrey Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in New Oriental Education & Technology Group during the 1st quarter worth $9,888,000. Amundi increased its holdings in New Oriental Education & Technology Group by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 507,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,755,000 after purchasing an additional 63,845 shares during the period. Finally, Triata Capital Ltd raised its position in New Oriental Education & Technology Group by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Triata Capital Ltd now owns 396,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,835,000 after purchasing an additional 29,412 shares in the last quarter.

About New Oriental Education & Technology Group

New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc is a China-based education services provider that offers learning programs through online platforms and physical schools and learning centers. The company serves students, families and adult learners with services covering language training, test preparation, educational consulting and other academic programs.

Its offerings have historically included preparation for overseas admissions and examinations such as TOEFL, IELTS, SAT, GRE and GMAT, as well as overseas study consulting, domestic examination preparation, primary and secondary education services, and educational materials and software.