Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of Education Management (NASDAQ: EDMC) were getting held back today, falling as much as 14% and finishing down 5% after a downgrade from BMO Capital Markets.
So what: Coming two days after the for-profit educator's disappointing earnings report, BMO lowered its rating on the stock from market perform to underperform and dropped its price target to $7 from $10. Education Management shares fell 7% yesterday after its earnings report came out as revenues declined 4.8% on a 6.1% drop in new enrollment and an 8.5% slide in overall student count. Its loss per share improved from $0.11 to $0.08.
Now what: Though Education Management beat earnings estimates, it missed out on the industrywide trend that's sent education stocks up this earnings season as many topped expectations, seeing smaller sales declines than expected. Education Management's stock drop seems to have come from shares being bid up so high in the first place this year as it's essentially since the beginning of the year. Still, the stock is well below a late-2011 peak above $25. With sales and enrollments still declining and the stock's recent spike fading, now looks like a good time to sell.
