Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Grand Canyon Education shares gapped down from a prior close of $147.66 to open at $140.22, later trading near $146.27 on volume of 68,784 shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $161.67, despite some downgrades and target-price reductions.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.81 in EPS versus $1.67 expected and revenue of $264.05 million, up 6.7% year over year.

Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $147.66, but opened at $140.22. Grand Canyon Education shares last traded at $146.2680, with a volume of 68,784 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.83. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 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. The company 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 36.62% and a net margin of 19.63%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 10.24 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LOPE. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 5.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the company's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG increased its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 48.9% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 195 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 70.7% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 157 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,475 shares of the company's stock worth $1,421,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,632 shares of the company's stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company's stock.

About Grand Canyon Education

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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