Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $110.00 to $120.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Planet Fitness traded as high as $102.90 and last traded at $102.33, with a volume of 519533 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $99.02.

PLNT has been the topic of several other reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Planet Fitness from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Planet Fitness from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. BNP Paribas raised Planet Fitness from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $97.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Planet Fitness from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Planet Fitness in a research note on Friday, September 27th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Simmons sold 11,453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total value of $1,101,778.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,838,382. This represents a 37.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Planet Fitness

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in Planet Fitness by 61.2% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Planet Fitness by 69.8% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 489 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Planet Fitness by 174.7% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Planet Fitness by 396.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 1,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Planet Fitness during the third quarter valued at about $200,000. 95.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Planet Fitness Trading Up 2.9 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $90.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.64. The company has a market cap of $8.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.77, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.53.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.07. Planet Fitness had a negative return on equity of 107.97% and a net margin of 14.23%. The business had revenue of $292.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.79 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Planet Fitness, Inc. will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Planet Fitness Company Profile

Planet Fitness, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates fitness centers under the Planet Fitness brand. The company operates through three segments: Franchise, Corporate-Owned Stores, and Equipment. The company is involved in franchising business in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, and Australia.