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 Higher One (ONE -14.42%) have plunged today by as much as 12% after an analyst downgraded the stock's rating.
So what: Piper Jaffray has dropped its rating on Higher One from "overweight" to "underweight," which is a two-notch downgrade. It has also cut its price target from $16 to $11, which isn't too far off from today's low trade of $11.39.
Now what: The company provides college payment services, and analyst Michael Grondahl believes that decreased Pell grant activity has weighed on the company for the first half of the year. There have been concerns over funding availability that could put downward pressure on college enrollment, and subsequently Higher One's business, which focuses on providing financial services to students. Grondahl thinks that this weakness is carrying through to the latter part of 2012 and is reducing his top- and bottom-line estimates through next year.
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