American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) SVP Sells $1,113,600.00 in Stock

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) SVP Tanya Joy Axenson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.68, for a total value of $1,113,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 49,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,779,378.56. The trade was a 28.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

American Public Education Stock Performance

Shares of American Public Education stock opened at $54.52 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.09, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.70. American Public Education, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.75 and a 12 month 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.28. American Public Education had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 11.30%. The firm had revenue of $158.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $151.61 million. American Public Education has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.640 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Public Education, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

More American Public Education News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price-target raises are supporting upside — DA Davidson boosted its target to $58 and other brokers have lifted targets recently, reinforcing buy-side momentum after APEI’s Q4 beat. DA Davidson Price Target Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and estimates improving: APEI posted an EPS and revenue beat for Q4 and provided Q1 EPS guidance (0.580–0.640), and recent upward earnings estimate revisions (highlighted by Zacks) support the bullish narrative. Zacks Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports show anomalous zero-share totals and NaN changes (days-to-cover = 0.0) — this appears to be a data/reporting issue rather than a real spike in short activity, so treat short-interest signals cautiously.
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling this week could pressure the stock — 325 Capital LLC sold large blocks (multiple sales mid-March totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars), and a few senior executives also sold shares. These sizable disposals may create near-term selling pressure or raise questions about timing; filings are available via the SEC. 325 Capital/SEC Filing

Institutional Trading of American Public Education

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Public Education by 1.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,086,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,893,000 after acquiring an additional 17,902 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in American Public Education by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 962,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,398,000 after purchasing an additional 34,700 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in American Public Education by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 847,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,028,000 after purchasing an additional 15,277 shares during the period. No Street GP LP purchased a new stake in American Public Education in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,365,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in American Public Education by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 612,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,159,000 after purchasing an additional 49,008 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APEI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised American Public Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Northland Securities set a $51.00 price objective on American Public Education in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. William Blair set a $58.00 target price on American Public Education in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on American Public Education from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Public Education currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.