Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $180.98 and last traded at $175.82, with a volume of 23127 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $174.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LOPE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com cut shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $166.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.27.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.01. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 31.01% and a net margin of 22.09%. The firm had revenue of $238.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions 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, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total transaction of $249,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 21,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,516,366.18. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grand Canyon Education

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the second quarter valued at $454,000. Creative Planning lifted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the 2nd quarter valued at $300,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the second quarter valued at about $131,000. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.