Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) Short Interest Up 57.6% in March

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,104,862 shares, an increase of 57.6% from the February 26th total of 1,970,235 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,022,128 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on LAUR shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Laureate Education in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Laureate Education from $40.00 to $41.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Laureate Education from $32.00 to $36.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research raised shares of Laureate Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Laureate Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.63.

Laureate Education Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of LAUR stock traded down $0.63 on Friday, hitting $34.78. 1,163,475 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,970,124. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.11 and a 200 day moving average of $32.27. Laureate Education has a fifty-two week low of $17.91 and a fifty-two week high of $37.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76. Laureate Education had a net margin of 16.55% and a return on equity of 23.50%. The business had revenue of $541.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $527.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Laureate Education has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.030 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Laureate Education will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laureate Education

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAUR. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 48.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 156,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,204,000 after buying an additional 51,337 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 98,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 2,838 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Laureate Education by 7.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 407,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,328,000 after purchasing an additional 27,978 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Laureate Education by 179.4% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 163,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,352,000 after purchasing an additional 105,247 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Laureate Education by 20.0% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 66,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 11,170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.27% of the company’s stock.

Laureate Education Company Profile

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.