Morgan Stanley Reiterates Overweight Rating for Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT)

Morgan Stanley reissued their overweight rating on shares of Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has a $79.00 price target on the stock.

PLNT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Planet Fitness from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Planet Fitness from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Planet Fitness from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the company from $62.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Raymond James increased their target price on Planet Fitness from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a neutral rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Planet Fitness in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $75.00.

Planet Fitness Trading Up 1.1 %

PLNT stock opened at $71.96 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.23. Planet Fitness has a 12-month low of $44.13 and a 12-month high of $75.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a PE ratio of 41.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.43.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.04. Planet Fitness had a negative return on equity of 140.14% and a net margin of 13.66%. The firm had revenue of $248.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.48 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Planet Fitness will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Planet Fitness

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Planet Fitness by 66.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 877,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,166,000 after purchasing an additional 351,401 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Planet Fitness during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $389,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Planet Fitness by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 897,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,549,000 after buying an additional 133,541 shares in the last quarter. Broad Bay Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Planet Fitness by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Broad Bay Capital Management LP now owns 1,223,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,279,000 after acquiring an additional 163,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Planet Fitness during the third quarter valued at $944,000. 95.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Planet Fitness

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.