Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Still a Buy?

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 589,248 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 48% from the previous session's volume of 397,156 shares.The stock last traded at $118.86 and had previously closed at $119.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BFAM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $137.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $145.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $142.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $141.50.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $123.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.76. The stock has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.84 and a beta of 1.43.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.05. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a net margin of 4.44% and a return on equity of 13.23%. The firm had revenue of $719.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $713.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

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 transaction of $573,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,897,230.47. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.94, for a total transaction of $109,552.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 31,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,248,563.50. This represents a 2.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BFAM. OLD National Bancorp IN acquired a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the second quarter valued at $339,000. Thrive Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the second quarter valued at about $207,000. MJP Associates Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 7.0% in the second quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 2,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 8.8% in the second quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 5,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 3.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 9,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Company Profile

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.