Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

LOPE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Friday, September 20th.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of LOPE stock traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $142.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 205,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 181,470. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.67. Grand Canyon Education has a 12-month low of $112.38 and a 12-month high of $157.53.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.17. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 31.49% and a net margin of 21.88%. The company had revenue of $227.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $223.56 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education will post 7.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Grand Canyon Education

In other news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.23, for a total transaction of $211,845.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 22,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,202,249.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Grand Canyon Education

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,961,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,180,000. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 9.4% during the first 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 during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 450.7% in the second 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 during the period. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Grand Canyon Education

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.