In a vacuum, there might be legitimate cause for excitement. After 11 consecutive quarters during which ESI reported a YOY decline in new student starts the company was finally able to identify an elixir to its enrollment woes – aggressive tuition discounting...
READ MORE >“And you all know how the story go….Not bad meaning bad but bad meaning good…”- Run-DMCWith all due respect to Monsieurs Simmons, McDaniels, and Mizell we doubt that they...
READ MORE >Earlier this week, the American Arbitration Association ruled on a dispute between a former student of CECO’s California School of Culinary Arts (since rebranded the Le Cordon Bleu College of...
READ MORE >In a move that received little fanfare this past February, ESI’s board of directors established a short term element to the company’s compensation policy for senior management that could be payable in...
READ MORE >How much are 400-600 ITT Tech students worth? In a report in which we will outline some of the critical questions surrounding ESI, this is the question we have been pondering all day. Afterall, it...
READ MORE >We have little doubt that among the kernels of information included in ESI’s 2012 10-K filing that the disclosure of the subpoena from the SEC will receive the greatest attention – as it should. However, for anyone who has followed the...
READ MORE >Who said volatility is dead? In a day that will go down in infamy for ESI investors, the stock traded in an astounding 40%+ range today. After gaping down in excess of 20% in early trading ESI shares rebounded over the course of the day to close up 17.7% - efficient...
READ MORE >If you were to distill our short thesis on ESI into its central elements (which we’ve now had in place for almost four years now) it can be succinctly summarized in two points: 1. The company’s...
READ MORE >Losing Altitude and Gaining Speed…..At the simplest level, here are the five things that you need to know about ESI following the company’s 3Q12 earnings release and fall term enrollment...
READ MORE >On Tuesday, October 16th APOL will kick-start the earnings season in the for-profit postsecondary education sector. Investor expectations for the company’s results, particularly surrounding new...
READ MORE >More Correspondence with the SEC….We just wanted to flag a round of correspondence between ESI and the SEC that occurred in July and August of this year. The letters were just released through the SEC’s...
READ MORE >Make no mistake, as we navigate earnings season in the for-profit education space over the next 2-3 weeks, the poor operating results from DeVry will look like an accurate gauge of the operating...
READ MORE >Early this morning, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its long awaited report on the Private Student Loan (PSL) industry. The report provides a broad overview of the characteristics of the private student loan market for the...
READ MORE >There is little doubt that the for-profit postsecondary education sector has been under siege for the past 2-3 years. Most stocks in the space are trading at or near their 52-week lows and at valuations most investors and management teams in...
READ MORE >It’s True They Did Beat, But….ESI reported 1Q12 revenue and EPS results that were significantly better than consensus estimates. Despite the overall outperformance, there are CLEAR signs now that...
READ MORE >Today the 1Q12 earnings season in the for-profit postsecondary education sector kicks off in earnest. Thus far, many of the 12 issues that we thought would matter most this year have weighed...
READ MORE >If we have learned anything over the past 12 years in which we have been following ESI as analysts and investors it is this: never underestimate the guile of the company’s management team, particularly when it comes to crafting...
READ MORE >It’s True They Did Beat, But….ESI reported 4Q11 revenue and EPS results that were significantly better than consensus estimates. Despite the overall outperformance, many of the critical underlying metrics the company reported were weak and/or should...
READ MORE >Yesterday we published a lengthy report that outlined the 12 issues that we think will have the greatest impact on the enrollment, revenue, EPS and stock sentiment of the publicly traded for-profit...
READ MORE >Perhaps it happens every year, but the relative outperformance of last year’s losers compared to the prior year’s winners has been particularly pronounced thus far in 2012. The 25 worst...
READ MORE >ESI reported inline revenues and a healthy 3Q11 EPS beat. New student starts and total enrollments were both better than our expectations, but still showed weakening trends on a 2-year stacked basis. There are some in the sell-side...
READ MORE >What a difference a few months can make. To put the performance of the publicly traded for-profit postsecondary education companies in perspective for the past few months, we thought it might be...
READ MORE >In an article on Insidehighered.com today entitled “Hitting Hard at Fraud”, more details on the extent of online fraud rings in higher education have emerged. As a reminder, two weeks ago, the Department of...
READ MORE >Earlier today PAA Research hosted a conference call with Deanne Loonin of the National Consumer Law Center, one of the best known and most influential non-profit consumer advocacy organizations in the...
READ MORE >PAA Research will host a conference call TODAY at 2:30PM ET with Deanne Loonin of the National Consumer Law Center, one of the best known and most influential non-profit consumer advocacy...
READ MORE >PAA Research will host a conference call at 2:30PM ET Wednesday October 5th with Deanne Loonin of the National Consumer Law Center, one of the best known and most influential non-profit consumer...
READ MORE >Earlier this week, the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General published an investigative program advisory report on “Online Education Fraud Rings”. The report was sent to Federal Student Aid (FSA) and...
READ MORE >PAA Research will host a conference call at 2:30PM ET Wednesday October 5th with Deanne Loonin of the National Consumer Law Center, one of the best known and most influential non-profit consumer...
READ MORE >Key Observations from ESI’s 2Q11 Results and Summer Term Enrollment IntakeESI reported a headline revenue and EPS beat for 2Q11, but we think most investors are likely to be focused on the rapid deceleration in new student starts witnessed in the Summer term. Despite the revenue...
READ MORE >For the past six weeks, we feel like we have been “spitting into the wind” when it comes to our bearish call on stocks in the for-profit postsecondary education sector. Despite our best efforts...
READ MORE >LONG
$70
SELL/SHORT
$4
SELL
$50
SELL/SHORT
$45
SHORT
$18
SELL/SHORT
$5
SELL/SHORT
$42
LONG
$75
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
$0
SHORT
$9
SHORT
$0
PAIR - LONG BGG/SHORT TTC
25%
PAIR - LONG BGG/SHORT TTC
25%
SHORT
$14.00
SHORT
$22
SHORT
$15
SHORT
$20
SHORT
$31
SHORT
$35
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