Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $9.50.

Several analysts have weighed in on COUR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Coursera from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Coursera from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $7.50 price objective on shares of Coursera in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Coursera from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Coursera from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th.

Insider Activity

In other Coursera news, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of Coursera 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 owned 255,934 shares in the company, valued at $1,412,755.68. The trade was a 3.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insight Holdings Group, Llc sold 1,466,372 shares of Coursera stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 419,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,199,668.16. This trade represents a 77.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,009,139 shares of company stock valued at $10,643,180 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 16.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coursera

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COUR. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Coursera in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Coursera in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Coursera by 224.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coursera in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Coursera by 619.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 3,465 shares during the last quarter. 89.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coursera Stock Performance

Shares of COUR stock opened at $5.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $905.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.07 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.29. Coursera has a 52 week low of $5.00 and a 52 week high of $13.56.

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

Coursera announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, May 18th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 55.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Coursera

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.