BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Stock Price

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $181.00 to $202.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price points to a potential upside of 10.44% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barrington Research increased their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

LOPE stock traded down $4.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $182.91. The stock had a trading volume of 68,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 147,494. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $170.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.40. Grand Canyon Education has a 1-year low of $126.17 and a 1-year high of $192.18. The stock has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.74.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $292.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.62 million. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 30.91% and a net margin of 21.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 21,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,516,366.18. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Grand Canyon Education

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,513,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,870,000 after purchasing an additional 189,843 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 885,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,982,000 after buying an additional 14,667 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 883,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,391,000 after acquiring an additional 8,159 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 513,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,878,000 after acquiring an additional 68,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 494,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,033,000 after buying an additional 39,136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

About Grand Canyon Education

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.