UPDATE: Compass Point Initiates Apollo Group with Sell Rating on Expected Continued Decline

In a report published Friday, Compass Point analyst Michael Tarkan initiated coverage on Apollo Group

with a Sell rating and $15.00 price target. In the report, Tarkan noted, “Apollo has now experienced ten consecutive quarters of declining enrollment growth, but we believe challenges remain. Its still-meaningful size remains an obstacle, consistently driving difficult new start comps; while the lack of incentive compensation, an increasing focus on regulatory outcomes, and a pull-back from lead aggregators have meaningfully limited recruiting efforts, in our view. Without clear visibility into when consistent new start growth will resume, we expect enrollment and earnings will continue to decline. As such, we believe the stock warrants a Sell rating, despite the recent pull-back.” Apollo Group closed on Thursday at $17.60.