Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) Short Interest Down 15.0% in December

Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) was the target of a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 266,000 shares, a drop of 15.0% from the December 15th total of 312,800 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 175,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Insider Activity at Grand Canyon Education

In other Grand Canyon Education news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total transaction of $249,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 21,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,516,366.18. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Grand Canyon Education

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 4th quarter worth about $204,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the 4th quarter worth approximately $222,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the 4th quarter worth approximately $210,000. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LOPE opened at $171.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $164.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.08. Grand Canyon Education has a fifty-two week low of $118.48 and a fifty-two week high of $173.37.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.01. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 22.09% and a return on equity of 31.01%. The firm had revenue of $238.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.69 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. Grand Canyon Education’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education will post 8.03 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on LOPE shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barrington Research lifted their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Grand Canyon Education Company Profile

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.