Grand Canyon Education Inc (LOPE): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Grand Canyon Education Inc (NASDAQ:LOPE) was in 13 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. LOPE has experienced an increase in hedge fund sentiment recently. There were 11 hedge funds in our database with LOPE positions at the end of the previous quarter.

In the financial world, there are tons of gauges investors can use to track Mr. Market. A duo of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best investment managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Just as important, optimistic insider trading activity is a second way to break down the financial markets. Obviously, there are lots of stimuli for an executive to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if you understand where to look (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a look at the latest action surrounding Grand Canyon Education Inc (NASDAQ:LOPE).

What does the smart money think about Grand Canyon Education Inc (NASDAQ:LOPE)?

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 18% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly.

Of the funds we track, Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the biggest position in Grand Canyon Education Inc (NASDAQ:LOPE). Renaissance Technologies has a $22.1 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. On Renaissance Technologies’s heels is Stadium Capital Management, managed by Alexander Medina Seaver, which held a $18.6 million position; 4.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedge funds that hold long positions include Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

Now, some big names have been driving this bullishness. Hutchin Hill Capital, managed by Neil Chriss, initiated the biggest position in Grand Canyon Education Inc (NASDAQ:LOPE). Hutchin Hill Capital had 0.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also made a $0.4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new LOPE positions are Ken Gray and Steve Walsh’s Bryn Mawr Capital, Gregory Fraser, Rudolph Kluiber, and Timothy Kroch’s GRT Capital Partners, and Drew Cupps’s Cupps Capital Management.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Grand Canyon Education Inc (NASDAQ:LOPE)?

Insider buying is best served when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time period, Grand Canyon Education Inc (NASDAQ:LOPE) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Grand Canyon Education Inc (NASDAQ:LOPE). These stocks are DeVry Inc. (NYSE:DV), Apollo Group Inc (NASDAQ:APOL), New Oriental Education & Tech Grp (ADR) (NYSE:EDU), TAL Education Group (ADR) (NYSE:XRS), and K12 Inc. (NYSE:LRN). This group of stocks are in the education & training services industry and their market caps match LOPE’s market cap.

With the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s strategies, retail investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Grand Canyon Education Inc (NASDAQ:LOPE) is an important part of this process.

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