LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $13.00 to $15.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. LifeStance Health Group traded as high as $13.27 and last traded at $13.00, with a volume of 5941430 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $12.62.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on LFST. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of LifeStance Health Group in a research report on Friday, June 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $9.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research cut shares of LifeStance Health Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LifeStance Health Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price objective on LifeStance Health Group from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Bessler sold 894,337 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.13, for a total transaction of $9,059,633.81. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 539,763 shares in the company, valued at $5,467,799.19. This trade represents a 62.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Vukasin Paunovich sold 42,067 shares of LifeStance Health Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.87, for a total transaction of $541,402.29. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 205,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,643,227.73. This represents a 17.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 14,671,917 shares of company stock worth $155,493,415 over the last 90 days. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LifeStance Health Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting LifeStance Health Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target for LifeStance Health Group from $13 to $15 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying further upside from the stock’s recent level. Barclays price target report
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted LFST as a strong momentum candidate, reinforcing investor interest after the shares’ substantial appreciation over the past year. Zacks momentum stock analysis
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest quarterly results showed strong operating momentum: revenue increased 26.1% year over year to $435.4 million, while adjusted earnings of $0.06 per share exceeded expectations of $0.03. The company is also projected to remain profitable for the full year.
• Neutral Sentiment: LifeStance announced a secondary offering alongside a share repurchase program. The repurchase could help absorb some of the shares being offered and support the stock, although the overall effect depends on the offering size and terms. LifeStance secondary offering and share repurchase announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerages collectively rate LFST a “Moderate Buy,” suggesting generally favorable expectations but not unanimous conviction.
• Negative Sentiment: The secondary offering may create additional share supply and weigh on the stock in the near term, particularly after its sharp run-up. The stock also trades at a high valuation—roughly 100 times earnings—leaving it sensitive to changes in growth expectations.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LFST. Silversmith Partners I GP LLC bought a new position in LifeStance Health Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $100,842,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LifeStance Health Group in the 1st quarter valued at $953,000. Orbimed Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of LifeStance Health Group in the 1st quarter worth $3,185,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of LifeStance Health Group by 92.5% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 800,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,099,000 after purchasing an additional 384,600 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in LifeStance Health Group by 38.5% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.50% of the company’s stock.

LifeStance Health Group Stock Down 0.2%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.78 and a beta of 1.22.

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.03. LifeStance Health Group had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 3.39%. The business had revenue of $435.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $414.58 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LifeStance Health Group, Inc. will post 0.16 EPS for the current year.

LifeStance Health Group Company Profile

LifeStance Health Group, Inc is a behavioral health care company that provides outpatient mental health services through in-person and virtual appointments. Its platform connects patients with psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, therapists and other licensed clinicians.

The company offers services that may include psychotherapy, psychiatric evaluations, medication management and treatment for conditions such as anxiety, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and other behavioral health needs.