Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Trading Down 5.6% – What’s Next?

Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) dropped 5.6% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $157.51 and last traded at $158.4550. Approximately 73,389 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 283,955 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.79.

Grand Canyon Education News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Grand Canyon Education this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 showed organic growth — revenue and EPS rose year‑over‑year and management highlighted strong enrollment trends, supporting the company’s underlying demand picture. Earnings Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: On a GAAP basis the quarter produced solid profitability metrics (healthy net margin and ROE) and operating cash flow remained positive — signaling continued core business profitability. Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released the full earnings call transcript and supporting detail — useful for investors who want management commentary on enrollment, margins, and investment plans. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Different outlets show minor variance in reported beats/misses (some note tiny EPS beat, others show slight miss vs certain third‑party estimates) — indicates the quarter was mixed and interpretation varies by data source. Earnings In Line Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term guidance disappointed: Q1 2026 EPS was guided to a range well below consensus (2.70–2.73 vs ~3.19 expected) and Q2 guidance (1.56–1.68 vs ~2.75 consensus) was also materially lower — a clear short‑term earnings headwind and primary reason for the stock pullback. (Guidance update summary)
• Negative Sentiment: Full‑year 2026 EPS range (9.55–10.16) sits slightly below Street expectations (~10.00), increasing uncertainty around FY26 growth and margin trajectory. (Guidance update summary)
• Negative Sentiment: Balance sheet / cash items flagged: reported cash and equivalents declined materially year‑over‑year in some filings and operating cash flow was modestly down — investors may view this as added risk while management executes the plan. Financial Detail

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on LOPE. Weiss Ratings downgraded Grand Canyon Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.00.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $169.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.69. The company has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.74.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.02. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 32.41% and a net margin of 19.38%.The business had revenue of $308.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.92 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. Grand Canyon Education’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 50.4% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,029,000 after acquiring an additional 4,091 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Grand Canyon Education by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments increased its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 8,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter worth about $458,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 26,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,355,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Company Profile

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.