Bull of the Day: Stride (LRN)

Stride (LRN) is a Zack Rank #1 (Strong Buy) that is an American education company that provides online and blended education programs for students from kindergarten through 12th grade, as well as career learning for adults.

While many stocks have struggled this year, LRN has recently traded all-time highs. Not only is this relative strength bullish, but estimates are ticking higher before the company reports earnings next week.

About the Company

Formerly known as K12 Inc., Stride is a leading provider of online and blended education solutions. The company offers full-time, tuition-free online public-school programs in partnership with state and local school districts across the U.S. For families seeking alternatives, Stride also operates private online schools on a tuition basis.

In addition to its K–12 offerings, Stride provides career learning programs designed to prepare both high school students and adult learners for jobs in fields like information technology, healthcare, and business. The company develops and licenses its own digital curriculum, platforms, and assessment tools, giving it a unique position in the online education space.

The company is valued at $6.1 billion and has a Forward PE of 20. The stock has Zacks Style Scores of “A” in Growth and Momentum. However, LRN has an “C” score in Value.

Q2 Earnings Beat

In its most recent quarter, Stride delivered strong results in which they beat expectations and raised full-year guidance.

The company reported Q2 earnings of $2.03 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.97, on revenue of $587 million, which also exceeded the expected $572 million.

Stride raised its Q3 revenue outlook to $585–$600 million, with adjusted operating income projected between $130 million and $140 million. For full-year fiscal 2025, the company now expects revenue between $2.32 billion and $2.36 billion, up from prior guidance of $2.23 billion to $2.30 billion.

Enrollment growth continues to be a major driver, with average enrollments rising 19.4% year-over-year to 230,600 students—marking the third consecutive year of strong growth.

While the adult learning segment showed softness, with revenue declining $6.1 million to $19.8 million, this was more than offset by robust performance in the company’s core education programs.

The stock reacted positively, moving higher by 10% after the headline release. From there, the stock continued to make new highs and is trading up over 16% from the earnings report.

Stride, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Stride, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Stride, Inc. Quote

Estimates Headed Higher

Analysts took earnings estimates higher after earnings, but there has been some recent bullish movement over the last week. This could be a positive sign with earnings on April 29th.  

For the current quarter, estimates have gone from $1.99 to $2.09 over the last 90 days. But over the last 7 days they have gone from $2.01 to $2.09, a jump of 4%.

For the current year, estimates have been taken higher over the last 90 days. Here we see a 5% move higher, with numbers going from $6.64 to $6.96.

Next year we see positive momentum over the last 7 days, with estimates going from $7.31 to $7.62

Since earnings, there have been a handful of firms reiterating their buy ratings:

After earnings BMO Capital Markets reiterated its Outperform and $139 target.

The Technical Take

BMOs targets have already been hit and the stock looks like its having trouble the the $140-145 area. The stock will see a big reaction after earnings so the next 10% will likely be determined next week.

The $160 level is at 161.8% and another solid quarter the bulls should look to take profits there.

If there is selling into the print, we can look at the following support levels:

21-day: $132

50-day: $131

200-day: $103

Fibonacci Support levels reside at $103(50%) and $94 (61.8%).

In Summary

Stride’s impressive earnings momentum, accelerating enrollment growth, and strong technical posture all point to a company hitting its stride—pun intended.

As one of the top-ranked Zacks stocks, with high marks for both growth and momentum, LRN continues to deliver where it matters most: consistent execution and upward revisions.

With earnings just around the corner and analysts raising their estimates, the stock is positioned for another potential breakout. Investors looking for exposure to the digital education trend may find LRN a compelling long-term opportunity, especially if it clears near-term resistance and heads toward its next Fibonacci target. 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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