Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total transaction of $249,105.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 21,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,516,366.18. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

LOPE stock traded down $2.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $160.31. 464,204 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 182,247. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $154.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.78. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.48 and a 12-month high of $173.37.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $238.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.69 million. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 22.09% and a return on equity of 31.01%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 1.5% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,399 shares of the company's stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 10.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,523 shares of the company's stock worth $5,014,000 after acquiring an additional 3,630 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,393 shares of the company's stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Grand Canyon Education during the 3rd quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Grand Canyon Education by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the company's stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LOPE has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Grand Canyon Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barrington Research boosted their target price 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.

View Our Latest Research Report on 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.

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