We want to eliminate any potential confusion immediately: As far as we know, ESI is not currently subject to an investigation from the SEC. It is not uncommon for the SEC's Division of Corporate Finance to issue comments on a...
READ MORE >Over the past several months there has been a growing bifurcation in the for-profit postsecondary education industry between those companies that have enacted significant "self regulation" measures in order to improve compliance with...
READ MORE >Over the past few weeks, three large, publicly traded for-profit postsecondary education companies reported earnings. The general feedback from each company (APOL, CPLA, and ESI) has been fairly similar: 1) new student starts have...
READ MORE >Long time followers of our research know that we have been bearish on the earnings prospects and consequently the share price potential of ESI for quite some time. In light of our views on the stock, it shouldn't come as a huge surprise that our...
READ MORE >ESI's third quarter results and fall term enrollment intake add further credence to our argument that the higher education "moonshot" in demand has come to an end. Below we discuss some of our key observations from the...
READ MORE >ESI will release 3Q10 earnings tomorrow morning and host a conference call at 11AM. We wanted to make sure all of our subscribers had our estimates heading into the earnings release. Here are our key assumptions. THEY DO NOT INCLUDE THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT.Fall Term Intake We...
READ MORE >For the past 6-7 months we have argued that the definition of a credit hour could become a significant regulatory issue in the higher education space, one that has generally overlooked by most investors. As a reminder, upon the passage of NegReg 2009 the Department of Education will...
READ MORE >Investing in the for-profit education sector over the past 2-3 months has been almost entirely about one's ability to tap into various DC lobbying groups, read the "tea leaves" from public statements from...
READ MORE >Volatility has always been a hallmark of the publicly traded for-profit education companies. In the ten+ years we have been following the sector, the number of trading opportunities have been seemingly...
READ MORE >On July 23rd, stocks in the for-profit education sector "ripped" after the release of the Department of Education's initial proposal on "gainful employment". At that time, many investors thought...
READ MORE >At long last the details on the Department of Education's proposal for its "gainful employment" were released. You can read an excellent summary of the proposal as well as responses from Senator Harkin, Harris Miller (CCA),...
READ MORE >ESI reported 2Q10 earnings results this morning. Overall we think the precipitous slow down in new student start growth for the summer term should start to raise significant questions about the...
READ MORE >Even though we are only 24 hours away from the first earnings report of the season from a publicly traded for-profit education provider, investor focus remains firmly on the eventual outcome of the Department of Education's "gainful employment" proposal....
READ MORE >On Thursday, July 22nd ESI will report 2Q10 earnings results and its Summer 2010 enrollment figures. This quarter's earnings season for the for-profit postsecondary education sector should be unique. We would not go as far as...
READ MORE >Over the past 48 hours a significant change has occurred in the operating landscape for proprietary higher education institutions. While most investors and sell-side analysts debate the eventual outcome of the Department of Education's "gainful employment" proposal,...
READ MORE >ESI reported 1Q10 results this morning that topped PAA Research and consensus expectations. You can read the full release here. Here are the quick highlights: Revenues and EPS of $384.0 million and $2.46 beat consensus...
READ MORE >In the for-profit postsecondary education sector, controversy never dies and it seems like trading opportunities are omnipresent. After a one-month period during which news flow within the industry slowed to a...
READ MORE >Earlier this week, the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) finally released its Key Operating Statistics report for FY09 (6/30/09). You can find the full report here. The report includes a comprehensive...
READ MORE >SELL/SHORT
$4
SELL
$50
SELL/SHORT
$45
SHORT
$18
SELL/SHORT
$5
SELL/SHORT
$42
LONG
$75
LONG
$128
SELL/SHORT
$50
SELL/SHORT
$50
LONG
$5.50
SHORT
$50
SHORT
$28
LONG
$65
LONG
$37
PAIR TRADE
$10
PAIR TRADE
$30
LONG
$35
SHORT
$35
SELL/SHORT
$10
SHORT
$101
SHORT
$15
SHORT
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SHORT
$9
SHORT
$0
PAIR - LONG BGG/SHORT TTC
25%
PAIR - LONG BGG/SHORT TTC
25%
SHORT
$14.00
SHORT
$22
SHORT
$15
SHORT
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SHORT
$31
SHORT
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SHORT
$30
PAIR - LONG KNL/SHORT MLHR
25%
SHORT
$100
LONG
$8
LONG
$20
SHORT
$22
PAIR - LONG CSGP/SHORT LOOP
40%
LONG
$35
SHORT
$275
SHORT
$0