Grand Canyon Education Insiders Sold US$839k Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy

Quite a few Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) insiders sold their shares over the past year, which may be a cause for concern. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Grand Canyon Education

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Grand Canyon Education

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Senior VP, Lori Browning, for US$296k worth of shares, at about US$148 per share. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$143. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

Insiders in Grand Canyon Education didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

I will like Grand Canyon Education better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Grand Canyon Education Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Grand Canyon Education. In total, Independent Director Chevy Humphrey dumped US$80k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Does Grand Canyon Education Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 2.1% of Grand Canyon Education shares, worth about US$88m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Grand Canyon Education Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But since Grand Canyon Education is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Grand Canyon Education, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

Of course Grand Canyon Education may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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