Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Buy Rating for Coursera (NYSE:COUR)

Coursera (NYSE:COUR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $10.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target points to a potential upside of 84.50% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Coursera from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Coursera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $7.50 price target on Coursera in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Coursera from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on Coursera from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.50.

Coursera Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of COUR stock opened at $5.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.23. The company has a market cap of $917.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.26 and a beta of 1.25. Coursera has a 12-month low of $5.00 and a 12-month high of $13.56.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $195.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $195.17 million. Coursera had a negative net margin of 8.23% and a negative return on equity of 5.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Coursera will post -0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coursera declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, May 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 55.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Coursera

In related news, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.52, for a total transaction of $50,447.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 255,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,412,755.68. This represents a 3.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insight Holdings Group, Llc sold 1,466,372 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total transaction of $7,683,789.28. Following the sale, the insider owned 419,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,199,668.16. This trade represents a 77.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,009,139 shares of company stock valued at $10,643,180. 16.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coursera

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COUR. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Coursera during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Coursera in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Coursera by 224.1% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 3,415 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in Coursera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Coursera by 619.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 3,465 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.55% of the company’s stock.

Coursera Company Profile

Coursera, Inc (NYSE:COUR) operates a leading online learning platform that delivers courses, specializations, professional certificates and fully accredited degree programs in collaboration with top universities and industry partners. Founded in 2012 by Stanford University professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller, Coursera’s mission is to provide universal access to world-class education and bridge skill gaps in a rapidly evolving job market.

The platform features more than 6,000 offerings created by over 275 academic institutions and corporate entities, spanning fields such as data science, business, technology, health care and the arts.