Shares of Santa Ana-based vocational school operator Corinthian Colleges Inc. closed down Tuesday after an analyst downgraded the stock.
Corinthian’s shares were off more than 2% to market value of $1.2 billion.
The stock was off as much as 4% during trading but gained back some lost ground with a late turn on Wall Street.
Standard & Poor’s 500 index ended the day flat after falling more than 2% early on concerns about European debt issues.
Early Tuesday, an analyst at Argus Capital downgraded Corinthian from “buy” to “hold,” citing regulatory risks and slowing enrollment growth.
Corinthian runs more than 100 campuses in the U.S. and Canada offering degrees in healthcare, criminal justice and other areas.
The company, which saw a surge in enrollment during the recession, has seen concerns about students defaulting on loans.
Corinthian also is dealing with Education Department review that found one of its colleges made misrepresentations to students, breached its fiduciary duty and intentionally evaded a requirement that only 90% of funding come from federal student loans.
The company disputes the findings.
Corinthian’s shares have fallen sharply in recent weeks and now are flat for the year after being up as much as 40% in early May.
