What Happened?
Shares of higher education company Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ: LOPE) jumped 2.9% in the afternoon session after the company announced a $300 million increase to its stock repurchase program and its partner, Grand Canyon University (GCU), received formal recognition of its non-profit status from the U.S. Department of Education.
The expanded buyback program, which brought the total authorization to $2.545 billion, signaled management's confidence in the company's value. Separately, the government's decision on GCU's non-profit status ended a long-running legal dispute. This recognition was expected to allow the university to access more private scholarships, government grants, and relief funds. It also opened the door for more partnerships with school districts and hospitals while significantly cutting down on legal costs previously spent battling for the designation.
The shares closed the day at $165.27, up 2.4% from previous close.
Is now the time to buy Grand Canyon Education? Access our full analysis report here.
What Is The Market Telling Us
Grand Canyon Education’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 4 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 1 day ago when the stock gained 2.8% on the news that the company announced a $300 million increase to its stock repurchase program. The expanded buyback program, which increased the total authorization to $2.545 billion, signaled management's confidence in the company's value.
Grand Canyon Education is up 2.1% since the beginning of the year, but at $165.24 per share, it is still trading 25.1% below its 52-week high of $220.55 from October 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Grand Canyon Education’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,787.
The 1999 book Gorilla Game predicted Microsoft and Apple would dominate tech before it happened. Its thesis? Identify the platform winners early. Today, enterprise software companies embedding generative AI are becoming the new gorillas. Click here for access to our special report that reveals one profitable leader already riding this wave.
