BMO Capital has increased its price target on Stride Inc. (NYSE: LRN) to $94.00 from $75.00 but preserved a Market Perform rating on the education-technology company. The broker noted that the firm’s fiscal second-quarter 2026 results surpassed consensus, though that outperformance was driven in significant part by a one-time gain.
The bank said General Education revenue trends were weaker than it had expected, but those headwinds were more than offset by stronger performance in the Career Learning segment. Over the trailing twelve months, Stride sustained revenue growth of 14.86%.
Management left its fiscal year 2026 revenue guidance intact and raised its adjusted operating income, effectively incorporating some of the second-quarter upside into the company’s full-year outlook. BMO noted that Stride’s guidance for the third quarter, along with the implied view for the fourth quarter, compared favorably to or bracketed prior consensus estimates.
Analysts surveyed expect Stride to earn $8.93 per share in fiscal 2026, and InvestingPro’s metrics cited in the broker note imply the stock is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of roughly 11.3. That multiple, taken together with near-term earnings expectations, produces a PEG ratio of about 0.64 in the data referenced by the broker.
BMO also reported that company management believes the principal problems tied to last quarter’s platform implementation are now resolved. The broker said Stride shares traded strongly in after-hours markets following the report, an advance that may have been amplified by short-covering activity.
The decision to lift the price target reflects BMO Capital’s upward revision to its fiscal 2026 estimates for Stride, but the firm left its Market Perform rating unchanged.
Separately, Stride released its fiscal Q2 results showing an earnings per share of $2.50, a beat versus the $2.01 estimate, representing a 24.38% outperformance. Revenue came in at $631.3 million versus an expected $627.9 million. Following those results, Canaccord Genuity reiterated a Buy rating and maintained a $125.00 price target.
Stride said the quarter was broadly in line with expectations for total enrollment and revenue while noting that profitability exceeded consensus estimates. The company limited enrollment growth intentionally to address technology implementation challenges, which kept overall growth muted despite the profit beat.
Even with the stronger-than-expected quarterly performance, the stock slipped modestly in after-hours trading, down approximately 0.28%.
Context and implications
The broker-level upgrade to Stride’s target price but maintenance of a neutral rating signals that BMO sees improved earnings power in the near term while remaining cautious on the stock’s upside relative to the company’s remaining uncertainties. The quarter’s one-time gain and constrained enrollment policy are central to understanding how the beat translated to the company’s guidance update.
For investors and market participants following education-technology equities, the episode highlights a mix of solid profit delivery, targeted operational restraint on enrollment to stabilize a platform rollout, and the potential for short-squeeze-driven trading moves in after-hours markets.