Apollo Education Upgraded to Strong Buy - Analyst Blog

On Mar 11, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Apollo Education Group Inc. APOL to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Apollo's share price has been on an upswing following the release of its online learning platform, Balloon, on Mar 4.

Why the Upgrade?

Apollo Education's wholly-owned subsidiary, Apollo Lightspeed recently launched Balloon, an online career skills and learning platform. . Balloon is the first global technology marketplace that features a catalogue of over 14,000 technology and training programs from various education providers and a database of over 146,000 career listings. It helps to bridge the gap between career-seekers' skills and employers' talent needs.

Balloon understands the knowledge and skill requirements of employers from 25 leading technology companies.  It helps students to opt for the right online programs that make them eligible in the skilled labor market. Balloon connects technology companies with students seeking career oriented programs. Apollo's enrollment trends are likely to benefit from this recent launch.

Apollo has been implementing several measures to revive its enrollment trends. In Dec 2013, the company agreed to acquire 70% of the outstanding stock of Open Colleges Australia Pty Ltd (also known as Open Colleges). The acquisition will allow Apollo Global to access the growing education market in Australia and focus its resources in the high-potential international education market. This will result in further improvement in enrollment in the upcoming quarters.   

Other Stocks to Consider

Investors interested in the education sector can also consider Strayer Education Inc. STRA, New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. EDU and TAL Education Group XRS. While Strayer Education and TAL Education sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), New Oriental Education has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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