Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $118.99, but opened at $127.74. Bright Horizons Family Solutions shares last traded at $125.19, with a volume of 158,547 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $137.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $162.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.33.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Up 8.0 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.58. The company has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a PE ratio of 64.58 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.03). Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a net margin of 4.44% and a return on equity of 13.23%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.71, for a total value of $573,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,257 shares in the company, valued at $2,897,230.47. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BFAM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,442,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,332,000 after purchasing an additional 101,151 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,958,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868,117 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,546,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,141,000 after buying an additional 511,905 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,181,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,761,000 after buying an additional 423,456 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,370,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,752,000 after buying an additional 532,644 shares in the last quarter.

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.