Accolade (NASDAQ:ACCD) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Accolade, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACCD) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $6.13, but opened at $6.33. Accolade shares last traded at $6.34, with a volume of 602,666 shares changing hands.

The company reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by $0.13. Accolade had a negative return on equity of 20.26% and a negative net margin of 20.62%. The firm had revenue of $110.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $105.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.52) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Accolade from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Accolade in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Accolade from $11.00 to $5.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Accolade from $12.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Accolade from $13.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Colin Mchugh sold 5,543 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.62, for a total value of $36,694.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,177 shares in the company, valued at $332,171.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 14,746 shares of company stock valued at $104,586 in the last ninety days. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accolade

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ACCD. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Accolade by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 521,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,517,000 after buying an additional 41,043 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Accolade in the third quarter worth approximately $516,000. Rock Springs Capital Management LP increased its stake in Accolade by 3.3% during the third quarter. Rock Springs Capital Management LP now owns 2,913,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,820,000 after acquiring an additional 93,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Accolade by 3.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,283,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,903,000 after purchasing an additional 157,464 shares during the period. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Accolade by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 6,805,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,731,000 after buying an additional 762,685 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.99% of the company’s stock.

Accolade Stock Down 44.0 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.64.

About Accolade

Accolade, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development and provision of personalized and technology-enabled solutions that help people to understand, navigate, and utilize the healthcare system and their workplace benefits in the United States. The company offers a platform with cloud-based technology and multimodal support from a team of health assistants and clinicians, including registered nurses, physician medical directors, pharmacists, behavioral health specialists, women's health specialists, case management specialists, expert medical opinion providers, and virtual primary care physicians.