Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Decreases Stake in 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWOU)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. decreased its position in 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWOU) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,296,327 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 76,736 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 6.45% of 2U worth $6,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of 2U by 131.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 126,320 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 71,696 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 2U by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,759,732 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $4,347,000 after purchasing an additional 225,253 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 2U during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 2U by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 9,765,122 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $24,120,000 after purchasing an additional 981,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 2U by 37.2% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 215,142 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 58,331 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.53% of the company’s stock.

2U Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TWOU opened at $0.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $0.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. 2U, Inc. has a one year low of $0.24 and a one year high of $6.10.

2U (NASDAQ:TWOU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The software maker reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.07). 2U had a negative net margin of 33.58% and a negative return on equity of 7.92%. The firm had revenue of $255.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $275.84 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that 2U, Inc. will post -0.25 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TWOU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of 2U from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of 2U in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of 2U from $2.00 to $1.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 2U presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.31.

About 2U

2U, Inc operates as an online education platform company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Degree Program and Alternative Credential. The Degree Program segment provides the technology and services to nonprofit colleges and universities to enable the online delivery of degree programs.