Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) Stock Price

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) had its price target dropped by Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $102.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential downside of 7.04% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on BFAM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $137.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $125.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $145.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bright Horizons Family Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.75.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BFAM opened at $109.73 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.61. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 52 week low of $88.58 and a 52 week high of $141.90. The firm has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.14 and a beta of 1.43.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $719.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.16 million. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 4.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.94, for a total value of $109,552.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 31,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,248,563.50. The trade was a 2.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.71, for a total transaction of $573,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,257 shares in the company, valued at $2,897,230.47. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFAM. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 850.0% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 342 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 73.3% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period.

About Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc provides early education and childcare, back-up care, educational advisory, and other workplace solutions services for employers and families in the United States, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, and India. The company operates in three segments: Full Service Center-Based Child Care, Back-Up Care, and Educational Advisory and Other Services.