Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

COUR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Coursera in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Coursera from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Coursera from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $7.50 price objective on shares of Coursera in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price objective on shares of Coursera from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.19.

Coursera Price Performance

Shares of COUR traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $5.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,551,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,159,014. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.04. Coursera has a 52-week low of $5.00 and a 52-week high of $13.56. The company has a market cap of $967.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.04, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.23.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $195.70 million for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Coursera will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Coursera announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, May 18th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 55.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Coursera news, major shareholder Insight Holdings Group, Llc sold 1,466,372 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total value of $7,683,789.28. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 419,784 shares in the company, valued at $2,199,668.16. This represents a 77.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.52, for a total value of $50,447.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 255,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,412,755.68. The trade was a 3.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,009,139 shares of company stock valued at $10,643,180. 16.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coursera

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COUR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coursera by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,116,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,619,000 after acquiring an additional 2,195,148 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in Coursera by 97.0% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 14,590,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,389,000 after acquiring an additional 7,184,167 shares during the last quarter. Caledonia Private Investments Pty Ltd increased its stake in Coursera by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Caledonia Private Investments Pty Ltd now owns 12,052,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,708,000 after acquiring an additional 2,739,039 shares during the last quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE purchased a new stake in Coursera during the first quarter valued at about $61,178,000. Finally, Mak Capital One LLC purchased a new stake in Coursera during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,610,000. Institutional investors 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.