Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) Shares Bought by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 307,202 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 1.05% of Grand Canyon Education worth $50,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 66.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 420 shares of the company's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of LOPE traded up $0.15 on Wednesday, reaching $177.89. 83,662 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 178,335. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $175.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.95. The stock has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.82. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 52-week low of $126.17 and a 52-week high of $192.18.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.02. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 30.67% and a net margin of 21.90%. The company had revenue of $292.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.62 million. Analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LOPE. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $181.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Grand Canyon Education Company 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.