Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $110.00 to $120.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Planet Fitness traded as high as $102.90 and last traded at $102.33, with a volume of 519533 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.02.

PLNT has been the topic of several other reports. DA Davidson increased their target price on Planet Fitness from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Planet Fitness from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Planet Fitness in a research report on Friday, September 27th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $71.00 target price for the company. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $99.00 price target (up previously from $91.00) on shares of Planet Fitness in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Planet Fitness from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Planet Fitness

In related news, insider Jennifer Simmons sold 11,453 shares of Planet Fitness stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total transaction of $1,101,778.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,838,382. This trade represents a 37.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 5.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Planet Fitness

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Planet Fitness in the second quarter worth about $166,978,000. Anomaly Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Planet Fitness during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $106,795,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Planet Fitness by 169.8% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,317,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,985,000 after acquiring an additional 829,509 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Planet Fitness by 666.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 795,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,609,000 after acquiring an additional 691,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsal Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Planet Fitness by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dorsal Capital Management LP now owns 2,907,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,940,000 after buying an additional 207,193 shares in the last quarter. 95.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Planet Fitness Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $90.66 and a 200 day moving average of $81.64. The company has a market cap of $8.63 billion, a PE ratio of 54.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.53.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $292.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.79 million. Planet Fitness had a negative return on equity of 107.97% and a net margin of 14.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Planet Fitness, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

Planet Fitness Company Profile

Planet Fitness, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates fitness centers under the Planet Fitness brand. The company operates through three segments: Franchise, Corporate-Owned Stores, and Equipment. The company is involved in franchising business in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, and Australia.