Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Trading 4.5% Higher – Should You Buy?

Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) shares rose 4.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $152.34 and last traded at $153.3340. 93,116 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 310,673 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOPE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial set a $100.00 price target on Grand Canyon Education in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $198.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 6th. Barrington Research set a $200.00 price objective on Grand Canyon Education in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Grand Canyon Education currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.67.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Up 2.9%

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $147.87 and its 200 day moving average is $155.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.58.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.14. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 19.63% and a return on equity of 36.62%. The company had revenue of $264.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $261.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grand Canyon Education

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LOPE. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the 2nd quarter valued at about $397,654,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 2nd quarter worth about $148,667,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 36.9% during the second quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 882,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,358,000 after buying an additional 237,939 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 736,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,493,000 after buying an additional 99,320 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 578,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,163,000 after acquiring an additional 26,593 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Grand Canyon Education Company Profile

Grand Canyon Education, Inc is an education services company that provides technology, operational and support solutions to colleges and universities. Its services are designed to help partner institutions deliver traditional, online and hybrid academic programs while managing student recruitment, enrollment and ongoing support.

The company’s offerings include learning-management and information-technology systems, marketing and student outreach, academic counseling, finance and accounting support, faculty and curriculum services, and data analytics.