Oportun Financial Corporation (OPRT) shares soared 8.6% in the last trading session to close at $7.69. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 0.7% gain over the past four weeks.
Oportun extended its gains for the third consecutive session, climbing higher yesterday after the company issued a letter to shareholders reaffirming its support for CEO Raul Vazquez. In the letter, Oportun urged investors to vote in favor of retaining Vazquez on the board, countering efforts by Findell Capital Management to oust him. The show of confidence in the CEO appeared to boost investor sentiment, pushing OPRT stock higher.
This company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.21 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +162.5%. Revenues are expected to be $239.79 million, down 4.2% from the year-ago quarter.
While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
For Oportun Financial, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on OPRT going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
Oportun Financial belongs to the Zacks Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry. Another stock from the same industry, StepStone Group Inc. (STEP), closed the last trading session 0.1% higher at $57.08. Over the past month, STEP has returned -1.8%.
For StepStone Group, the consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at $0.41. This represents a change of -14.6% from what the company reported a year ago. StepStone Group currently has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
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Oportun Financial Corporation (OPRT): Free Stock Analysis Report StepStone Group Inc. (STEP): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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