Fmr LLC Acquires 141,648 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Fmr LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 12.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,323,406 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 141,648 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $187,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOPE. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the 1st quarter worth $2,180,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 46.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 14,150.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 43.2% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 450.7% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,459,000 after acquiring an additional 14,386 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

Shares of LOPE stock opened at $167.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.70. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a one year low of $118.48 and a one year high of $173.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $147.50 and its 200 day moving average is $144.75.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.01. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 22.09% and a return on equity of 31.01%. The company had revenue of $238.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on LOPE. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barrington Research boosted their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of Grand Canyon Education stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.23, for a total value of $211,845.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 22,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,202,249.02. This trade represents a 6.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.