Key Stats for STEP Stock
- Price Change for STEP stock: -12.24%
- STEP Share Price as of Feb. 23: $43.94
- 52-Week High: $77.80
- STEP Stock Price Target: $81.43
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What Happened?
StepStone Group (STEP) stock fell 12.24% on February 23, 2026, as investors broadly de-risked across asset managers and private-market-related stocks. The move came amid a wider pullback in U.S. equities that hit software and private-capital names particularly hard.
Market commentary tied the selloff to renewed anxiety around how fast-moving AI could pressure parts of the software ecosystem, which matters because private-market portfolios and private credit exposure often intersect with software valuations. That “second-order risk” narrative contributed to sharp, correlated declines across the private-capital complex.
Reuters’ market wrap also highlighted heightened macro uncertainty tied to abrupt trade-policy shifts, which pushed investors toward safer assets and away from risk-sensitive financials. In that kind of tape, even companies without company-specific negative headlines can see outsized down moves due to positioning and risk reduction.
For context, STEP entered 2026 after a strong 2025 run (it closed $64.17 on 12/31/25) but is now down about 31.5% year-to-date to $43.94. The stock is also about 43.5% below its $77.80 52-week high, which underscores how quickly sentiment has shifted.
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What the Market Is Telling Us About STEP Stock
The February drawdown looks less like a company-specific repricing and more like a “risk-off” move across private markets and adjacent exposures. When investors worry about liquidity, valuation marks, or broader sentiment toward private capital, listed managers can sell off together even if their underlying business mix differs.
StepStone’s business is tied to private markets activity, and that tends to be cyclical with capital markets confidence. If allocators slow commitments or the market questions the timing of exits and realizations, stocks in the space can compress on multiples even if long-term fee streams remain intact.
At the same time, StepStone continues to expand distribution and product access through partnerships. For example, the company announced a partnership with Utmost to provide UK clients access to StepStone’s evergreen private markets strategies, a channel that can support longer-term fundraising breadth.
Investors also keep a close eye on earnings cadence and messaging in a choppy tape. StepStone reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 results in early February, and management framed the quarter with supporting materials and a webcast format typical for public managers, which can become a focal point when the market is searching for durability signals.
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Should You Invest in StepStone Group Inc.?
The only way to really know is to look at the numbers yourself. TIKR gives you free access to the same institutional-quality financial data that professional analysts use to answer exactly that question.
Pull up STEP, and you’ll see years of historical financials, what Wall Street analysts expect for revenue and earnings in the quarters ahead, how valuation multiples have moved over time, and whether price targets are trending up or down.
You can build a free watchlist to track STEP alongside every other stock on your radar. No credit card required. Just the data you need to decide for yourself.
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Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
