Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 1,100,968 shares, an increase of 28.9% from the February 12th total of 854,308 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 413,379 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 4.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately 4.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 413,379 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grand Canyon Education

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LOPE. NDVR Inc. raised its position in Grand Canyon Education by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. NDVR Inc. now owns 1,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 46.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 203 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 6.7% in the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,077,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 70.7% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on LOPE shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Grand Canyon Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.00.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Down 0.7%

LOPE opened at $162.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $167.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.28. Grand Canyon Education has a 12-month low of $149.37 and a 12-month high of $223.04.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $308.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $307.92 million. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 33.28% and a net margin of 19.54%.Grand Canyon Education’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education will post 8.81 EPS for the current year.

Grand Canyon Education Company Profile

Grand Canyon Education, Inc provides a suite of higher‐education services through a long-term agreement with Grand Canyon University (GCU), one of the nation’s largest private Christian universities. The company’s offerings encompass a full range of academic and operational support functions, including enrollment management, student recruitment, curriculum development, instructional delivery, and technology infrastructure. Through its online program management capabilities, Grand Canyon Education helps design, market and deliver undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs to meet the needs of both traditional and non‐traditional learners.

Core services include digital marketing, admissions support, student success coaching, learning management systems and faculty recruitment.