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 for-profit educator American Public Education (Nasdaq: APEI) jumped as much as 10% in intraday trading today after the stock was upgraded by a Wall Street analyst.

So what: RBC Capital Markets analyst Robert Wetenhall Jr. boosted his view on the stock from "sector perform" to "outperform." The company operates American Military University -- an online postsecondary school that focuses on the military -- and Wetenhall thinks enrollment could get a boost if soldiers start coming home earlier than expected from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Now what: The upgrade comes amid broader scrutiny of the industry as the government bears down on enrollment practices. Washington Post Co.'s (NYSE: WPO) Kaplan Higher Education unit announced late yesterday that it will be cutting 5% of its workforce on enrollment concerns. That follows a similar move by Apollo Group (Nasdaq: APOL) last month. Even as Wetenhall upgraded American Public Education, he slapped a downgrade on Capella Education (Nasdaq: CPLA).

Could American Public Education be the equity oasis in a troubled sector? One voice from Wall Street does not an investment thesis make, but it certainly can be a good reason to take a closer look at a stock.

Want to keep up to date on American Public Education? Add it to your watchlist.