Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases 82,855 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 285,057 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,855 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.96% of Grand Canyon Education worth $39,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LOPE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,005,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,363,000 after purchasing an additional 24,871 shares in the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 3.7% in the first quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 839,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,303,000 after buying an additional 30,108 shares during the period. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 756,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,908,000 after buying an additional 11,540 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 716,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,197,000 after acquiring an additional 12,509 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 463,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,077,000 after acquiring an additional 39,743 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of LOPE opened at $141.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.69. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $111.92 and a 1 year high of $157.53. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.03.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Grand Canyon Education’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Grand Canyon Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

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.