Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) Short Interest Update

Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE – Get Rating) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 676,100 shares, a growth of 12.6% from the February 13th total of 600,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 216,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Down 0.0 %

LOPE stock opened at $108.42 on Thursday. Grand Canyon Education has a 52 week low of $78.37 and a 52 week high of $121.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.60.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 16th. The company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $258.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.17 million. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 30.24% and a net margin of 20.26%. Grand Canyon Education’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.11 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education will post 6.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 19,263.1% during the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 613,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,760,000 after buying an additional 610,063 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 507.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 320,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,813,000 after acquiring an additional 267,321 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 1,607.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 277,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,307,000 after acquiring an additional 261,125 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 59.9% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 451,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,539,000 after purchasing an additional 169,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 153.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 246,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,250,000 after purchasing an additional 149,192 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOPE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Barrington Research upped their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 17th.

About Grand Canyon Education

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Grand Canyon Education, Inc engages in the provision of education services. It offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs and certificates across colleges. The company was founded by Christopher C. Richardson and Brent D. Richardson in November 2003 and is headquartered in Phoenix, AZ.