1,038,828 Shares in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE Bought by William Blair Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management bought 1,038,828 shares of Grand Canyon Education, valued at approximately $148.7 million, giving it a 3.99% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 94.17% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on LOPE, with an average price target of $161.67; individual targets range from $100 to $200.
• Grand Canyon Education exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.81 versus the $1.67 consensus and revenue of $264.05 million, up 6.7% year over year.

William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,038,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $148,667,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 3.99% of Grand Canyon Education as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the 2nd quarter valued at $397,654,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 882,927 shares of the company's stock worth $126,358,000 after acquiring an additional 237,939 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 736,524 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,493,000 after acquiring an additional 99,320 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 649,269 shares of the company's stock worth $107,980,000 after purchasing an additional 153,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Berkom & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 613,375 shares of the company's stock worth $102,010,000 after purchasing an additional 90,070 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on LOPE. 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. Barrington Research set a $200.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $198.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 6th. Truist Financial set a $100.00 price objective on Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Grand Canyon Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Grand Canyon Education currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $161.67.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

NASDAQ LOPE opened at $147.46 on Friday. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.27 and a fifty-two week high of $223.04. The stock's 50-day moving average is $146.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.08. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.57.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.14. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 36.62% and a net margin of 19.63%.The company had revenue of $264.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $261.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 10.24 EPS for the current year.

Grand Canyon Education 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.

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