American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• American Public Education shares crossed above their 200‑day moving average, trading around $57.58 versus the 200‑day MA of $43.34, signaling a bullish technical breakout.
• The company posted a strong quarter (EPS $0.67 vs. $0.39 expected; revenue $158.3M vs. $151.6M) and set Q1 2026 EPS guidance of $0.580–0.640, with analysts averaging a "Moderate Buy" and a $55.50 price target.
• Significant insider selling has occurred—377,071 shares (~$20.75M) sold in the last three months—while insiders still own 10.6% and institutions hold about 79.6% of the stock.

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $43.34 and traded as high as $58.18. American Public Education shares last traded at $57.58, with a volume of 216,133 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on APEI shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Public Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Zacks Research raised shares of American Public Education from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of American Public Education from $48.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Barrington Research upped their target price on shares of American Public Education from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of American Public Education from $38.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "hold" 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.50.

American Public Education Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 3.46. The stock's fifty day moving average is $53.52 and its 200-day moving average is $43.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 42.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.49.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $151.61 million. American Public Education has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.640 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Public Education, Inc. will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Public Education news, insider Nuno S. Fernandes sold 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.87, for a total value of $350,155.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 84,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,534,507.25. This represents a 7.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Karmela Gaffney sold 2,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.87, for a total transaction of $150,849.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 40,527 shares in the company, valued at $2,264,243.49. The trade was a 6.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 377,071 shares of company stock valued at $20,753,569 over the last three months. Company insiders own 10.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in American Public Education by 57.2% in the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 35,323 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,009,000 after buying an additional 12,848 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in American Public Education in the first quarter valued at about $700,000. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in American Public Education by 8.6% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,818 shares of the company's stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Public Education by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 63,644 shares of the company's stock worth $2,406,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of American Public Education by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 51,377 shares of the company's stock worth $1,919,000 after purchasing an additional 3,141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.62% of the company's stock.

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.

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