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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on LOPE. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Friday, September 20th.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ LOPE opened at $137.81 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $143.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $140.66. Grand Canyon Education has a 52 week low of $112.38 and a 52 week high of $157.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.69.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.17. The business 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 revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education will post 7.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Grand Canyon Education news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,202,249.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the second quarter worth $1,961,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,180,000. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 9.4% during the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 463,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,077,000 after purchasing an additional 39,743 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 7.0% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 66,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,865,000 after purchasing an additional 4,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 450.7% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,459,000 after buying an additional 14,386 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by 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.