Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

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

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

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of LOPE opened at $142.78 on Tuesday. Grand Canyon Education has a one year low of $112.38 and a one year high of $157.53. The company has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $145.02 and a 200-day moving average of $140.08.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last announced its quarterly 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. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 21.88% and a return on equity of 31.49%. The business had revenue of $227.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $223.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education will post 7.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Grand Canyon Education news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of Grand Canyon Education 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 transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 22,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,202,249.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grand Canyon Education

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LOPE. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 14,150.0% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 710.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 46.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 640 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $109,000. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 85,200.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 853 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

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.