Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,773 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,429 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $1,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Alliance boosted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 3.8% in the second quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 2,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 12.6% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 2.5% in the second quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 4,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $592,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD raised its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 4.3% in the second quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 2,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $670,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on LOPE shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barrington Research raised their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of LOPE stock opened at $166.14 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.76. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.48 and a 1-year high of $173.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.56.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $238.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.69 million. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 31.01% and a net margin of 22.09%. Grand Canyon Education’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current year.

About Grand Canyon Education

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.