StockNews.com Downgrades Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barrington Research reissued an outperform rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ LOPE opened at $133.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $142.54 and its 200-day moving average is $140.83. Grand Canyon Education has a 1-year low of $112.38 and a 1-year high of $157.53.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $227.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $223.56 million. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 31.49% and a net margin of 21.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. Analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education will post 7.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Grand Canyon Education

In other Grand Canyon Education news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.23, for a total transaction of $211,845.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 22,674 shares in the company, valued at $3,202,249.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOPE. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 47.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 538,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,452,000 after purchasing an additional 173,800 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 105.5% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 333,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,973,000 after buying an additional 170,956 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Grand Canyon Education by 78.5% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 308,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,977,000 after acquiring an additional 135,626 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Grand Canyon Education by 41.0% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 285,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,882,000 after acquiring an additional 82,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 89.7% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,215,000 after acquiring an additional 81,853 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Grand Canyon Education Company Profile

Grand Canyon Education, Inc provides education services to colleges and universities in the United States. It offers technology services, including learning management system, internal administration, infrastructure, and support services; academic services, such as program and curriculum, faculty and related training and development, class scheduling, and skills and simulation lab sites; and counseling services and support services comprising admission, financial aid, and field experience and other counseling services.