StockNews.com Upgrades Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) to Buy

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LOPE traded up $0.75 on Tuesday, reaching $142.60. 205,298 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 181,470. The company has a 50-day moving average of $144.02 and a 200-day moving average of $140.67. The firm has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.69. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $227.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $223.56 million. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 21.88% and a return on equity of 31.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Grand Canyon Education

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 47.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 538,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,452,000 after acquiring an additional 173,800 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 105.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 333,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,973,000 after purchasing an additional 170,956 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 78.5% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 308,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,977,000 after purchasing an additional 135,626 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 285,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,882,000 after purchasing an additional 82,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 89.7% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,215,000 after buying an additional 81,853 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.