Nuno Fernandes Sells 6,500 Shares of American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Stock

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) insider Nuno Fernandes sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.87, for a total transaction of $350,155.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 84,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,507.25. This trade represents a 7.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

American Public Education Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of APEI stock opened at $54.32 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $998.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.94, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.70. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.77. American Public Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.75 and a 1 year high of $58.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 3.46.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $158.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.61 million. American Public Education had a return on equity of 11.30% and a net margin of 4.86%.American Public Education has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.640 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Public Education, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Public Education

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APEI. No Street GP LP purchased a new position in American Public Education in the third quarter worth $32,365,000. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in American Public Education during the third quarter valued at about $15,108,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in American Public Education by 1,667.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 180,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 170,604 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in American Public Education by 76.1% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 389,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,867,000 after purchasing an additional 168,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in American Public Education by 122.9% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 294,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,619,000 after purchasing an additional 162,318 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.62% of the company’s stock.

More American Public Education News

Here are the key news stories impacting American Public Education this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/price-target lift: DA Davidson raised its price target to $58 and maintained a Buy stance, reinforcing upside after APEI’s recent results. DA Davidson Price Target Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Broader analyst support: Several outlets/researchers have published higher targets recently, adding momentum to the bullish narrative around the company’s recovery and growth prospects. Price Target $56 Price Target $57
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings and outlook support: APEI reported a Q4 EPS beat and revenue above expectations and provided Q1 guidance (0.580–0.640 EPS), which underpins the recent analyst upgrades and constructive coverage. Zacks Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Positive media coverage: Recent articles praising APEI’s “stellar Q4” and diversified program mix reinforce the view that earnings momentum may be sustainable. Q4 Performance Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data appears anomalous: recent short-interest releases show zero-share totals and NaN changes (days-to-cover = 0.0), suggesting a reporting/data issue rather than a real shift in bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Three insiders sold on March 16 — SVP Tanya Joy Axenson sold 20,000 shares (~$55.68 avg), Nuno S. Fernandes sold 6,500 shares (~$53.87 avg), and SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares (~$57.70 avg). These sizeable disposals (Axenson’s sale reduced her stake by ~28.6%) can create short-term selling pressure or raise questions about timing, though insiders often sell for personal reasons. Axenson Form 4 Fernandes Form 4 Beckett Form 4

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on APEI shares. William Blair set a $58.00 price objective on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of American Public Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of American Public Education from $38.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Northland Securities set a $51.00 price target on shares of American Public Education in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.50.

About American Public Education

American Public Education, Inc operates as a provider of online postsecondary education, offering degree and certificate programs through its wholly owned subsidiary, American Public University System (APUS). The company designs and delivers a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programs in fields such as business administration, information technology, criminal justice, homeland security, health sciences, and education. Its curriculum is developed to meet the needs of working adults, military personnel, veterans and civilian students seeking flexible, career-relevant learning opportunities.

APUS is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and employs a proprietary online learning platform that supports asynchronous instruction, digital course materials and interactive learning tools.