First Trust Advisors LP Sells 20,874 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP reduced its Grand Canyon Education stake by 31%, selling 20,874 shares and retaining 46,547 shares valued at approximately $7.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.17% of the company.
• Grand Canyon Education surpassed second-quarter expectations, reporting $1.81 in adjusted EPS and $264.1 million in revenue, while raising its full-year 2026 EPS outlook to $10.18–$10.32.
• Near-term concerns remain: third-quarter EPS guidance of $1.74–$1.78 was below the $1.83 consensus, and LOPE shares were trading near $145.34, well below their 52-week high of $223.04.

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 31.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,547 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,874 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.18% of Grand Canyon Education worth $7,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LOPE. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Grand Canyon Education by 4,339.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 14.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 115,508 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,985,000 after acquiring an additional 15,019 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 2.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,925 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,371,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 123,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,318,000 after purchasing an additional 8,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 156.9% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 37,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,462,000 after purchasing an additional 22,812 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Grand Canyon Education

Here are the key news stories impacting Grand Canyon Education this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter results exceeded expectations: adjusted EPS was reported at $1.81 versus the $1.69 consensus, while revenue reached approximately $264.1 million, ahead of the $261.8 million estimate. Revenue increased 6.7% year over year, and EPS rose from $1.53 a year earlier. Grand Canyon Education Q2 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Grand Canyon Education raised its full-year 2026 EPS outlook to $10.18-$10.32, above the roughly $10.07 analyst consensus. The company expects full-year revenue of approximately $1.2 billion. Grand Canyon Education second-quarter 2026 results
• Positive Sentiment: Management outlined a long-term expansion strategy targeting as many as 80 hybrid learning locations and plans to open a law school in fall 2027, potentially adding new growth opportunities beyond its existing university-partner network. Grand Canyon Education hybrid locations and law school plans
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter EPS guidance of $1.74-$1.78 fell well below the $1.83 consensus estimate. Revenue guidance of $268.5 million-$270.5 million was broadly in line with expectations, making the weaker profit outlook the primary near-term concern. Grand Canyon Education earnings report and conference call

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Grand Canyon Education from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Truist Financial set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Barrington Research set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $198.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $161.67.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

Shares of LOPE stock opened at $145.34 on Friday. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.27 and a 52 week high of $223.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57. The stock's fifty day moving average is $147.37 and its 200-day moving average is $160.20.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $264.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $261.87 million. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 35.82% and a net margin of 19.63%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Grand Canyon Education Company 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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