Have Insiders Sold Grand Canyon Education Shares Recently?

Some Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Chairman & CEO, Brian Mueller, recently sold a substantial US$1.4m worth of stock at a price of US$180 per share. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 2.6%.

View our latest analysis for Grand Canyon Education

Grand Canyon Education Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Brian Mueller was the biggest sale of Grand Canyon Education shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at below the current price (US$181). We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 2.6% of Brian Mueller's stake.

Insiders in Grand Canyon Education didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Grand Canyon Education insiders own about US$112m worth of shares (which is 2.2% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Grand Canyon Education Insiders?

Insiders haven't bought Grand Canyon Education stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. On the plus side, Grand Canyon Education makes money, and is growing profits. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. While conducting our analysis, we found that Grand Canyon Education has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore it.

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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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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.