Robert Bessler Sells 575,034 Shares of LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) Stock

LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST) Director Robert Bessler sold 575,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.02, for a total transaction of $4,611,772.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 986,931 shares in the company, valued at $7,915,186.62. This represents a 36.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Robert Bessler also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, May 7th, Robert Bessler sold 75,000 shares of LifeStance Health Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.55, for a total transaction of $641,250.00.
• On Friday, April 24th, Robert Bessler sold 62,147 shares of LifeStance Health Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.05, for a total transaction of $438,136.35.
• On Thursday, April 23rd, Robert Bessler sold 7,752 shares of LifeStance Health Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.00, for a total transaction of $54,264.00.
• On Tuesday, April 21st, Robert Bessler sold 5,101 shares of LifeStance Health Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.01, for a total transaction of $35,758.01.

LifeStance Health Group Price Performance

Shares of LFST stock opened at $7.65 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 127.50 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.79. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.03. LifeStance Health Group had a net margin of 1.55% and a return on equity of 1.56%. The business had revenue of $403.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $387.46 million. LifeStance Health Group’s quarterly revenue was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LifeStance Health Group, Inc. will post 0.11 EPS for the current year.

LifeStance Health Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 25th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LifeStance Health Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Orbimed Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LifeStance Health Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,185,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of LifeStance Health Group by 92.5% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 800,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,099,000 after purchasing an additional 384,600 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of LifeStance Health Group by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 711,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,533,000 after purchasing an additional 200,041 shares during the last quarter. Militia Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LifeStance Health Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,067,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of LifeStance Health Group by 127.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,066,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,792,000 after purchasing an additional 596,501 shares during the last quarter. 85.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LFST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of LifeStance Health Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. 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. KeyCorp raised 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 Thursday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.86.

LifeStance Health Group Company 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.