Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) Short Interest Update

Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 321,700 shares, a growth of 21.1% from the February 28th total of 265,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 170,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

Shares of LOPE stock opened at $180.77 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $176.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $161.97. Grand Canyon Education has a 52-week low of $126.17 and a 52-week high of $192.18. The stock has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.78.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $292.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.62 million. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 30.67% and a net margin of 21.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Grand Canyon Education

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $692,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.5% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 18,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,692,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 5,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $814,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NDVR Inc. raised its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. NDVR Inc. now owns 1,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOPE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Grand Canyon Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $181.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barrington Research lifted their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

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.