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

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) had its price objective cut by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $68.00 to $66.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 1.68% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.62.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE:BFAM opened at $64.91 on Wednesday. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 12-month low of $57.63 and a 12-month high of $110.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.16. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.15.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $779.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $774.84 million. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a return on equity of 20.09% and a net margin of 5.78%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.050-5.150 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 4.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Mary Burke sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $90,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 30,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,320,875. This represents a 3.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Tocio sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total transaction of $435,900.00. Following the sale, the director owned 14,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,001.85. This trade represents a 29.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,900 shares of company stock valued at $656,584. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BFAM. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth $11,779,000. Aurora Investment Counsel acquired a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the second quarter worth about $1,964,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,187,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 27,305.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 177,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,585,000 after purchasing an additional 176,941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at about $22,078,000.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Company Profile

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc provides employer-sponsored child care and workforce-support services. The company operates early education and preschool centers, offering full-day care and educational programs for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-age children. It also provides back-up care services, including center-based and in-home care, to help employees manage disruptions in their regular care arrangements.

In addition to child care, Bright Horizons offers educational advisory services, college and university admissions counseling, and other family-support programs.