Values First Advisors Inc. Sells 3,741 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. $LOPE

Key Points

• Values First Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 28.3%, selling 3,741 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 9,482 shares.
• Grand Canyon Education reported $1.53 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.37 and reflecting an 8.8% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.
• Institutional investors now hold 94.17% of Grand Canyon Education's stock, highlighting significant interest from larger investment firms.

Values First Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 28.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,482 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,741 shares during the quarter. Grand Canyon Education comprises approximately 1.0% of Values First Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Values First Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $1,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Grand Canyon Education during the first quarter worth $232,000. Convergence Financial LLC bought a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the 1st quarter valued at $249,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 244.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 716 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the period. Informed Momentum Co LLC bought a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the 1st quarter valued at $3,721,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 59,459 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,288,000 after buying an additional 11,908 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

LOPE opened at $208.41 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $207.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.41. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.69 and a twelve month high of $220.79. The firm has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.76.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.16. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 31.50%. The business had revenue of $247.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LOPE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Grand Canyon Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Grand Canyon Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Grand Canyon Education presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.67.

Grand Canyon Education 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.

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