Trexquant Investment LP Acquires 40,710 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP significantly increased its stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. by 286.1%, now owning approximately 54,940 shares valued at $9.5 million.
• Several large investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Allianz Asset Management, also markedly increased their holdings, indicating strong institutional interest in Grand Canyon Education.
• According to analysts, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" with an average target price of $203.67, reflecting positive growth expectations.

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 286.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,940 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 40,710 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.19% of Grand Canyon Education worth $9,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 4,755 shares of the company's stock worth $823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the first quarter valued at approximately $588,000. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 2.8% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 1,292.6% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 24,329 shares of the company's stock worth $4,209,000 after acquiring an additional 22,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LOPE shares. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Grand Canyon Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.67.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Up 0.7%

Grand Canyon Education stock traded up $1.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $206.91. The company had a trading volume of 34,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 219,048. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.69 and a fifty-two week high of $207.12. The company has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.79.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $247.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $240.90 million. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 31.50%. The company's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 EPS for the current year.

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.