Brokerages Set Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) Price Target at $9.50

Shares of Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $9.50.

COUR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Coursera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $7.50 price objective on shares of Coursera in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Coursera from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Coursera from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th.

Insider Activity at Coursera

In related news, major shareholder Insight Holdings Group, Llc sold 1,466,372 shares of Coursera stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total value of $7,683,789.28. Following the completion of 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of Coursera 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 255,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,412,755.68. This trade represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 2,009,139 shares of company stock valued at $10,643,180 in the last quarter. 16.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coursera

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coursera by 15.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in shares of Coursera by 97.0% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 14,590,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,389,000 after acquiring an additional 7,184,167 shares in the last quarter. Caledonia Private Investments Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Coursera by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Caledonia Private Investments Pty Ltd now owns 12,052,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,708,000 after acquiring an additional 2,739,039 shares in the last quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE acquired a new position in shares of Coursera in the first quarter worth $61,178,000. Finally, Mak Capital One LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coursera during the fourth quarter worth about $27,610,000. 89.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coursera Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of COUR opened at $5.35 on Friday. Coursera has a 52-week low of $5.00 and a 52-week high of $13.56. The company has a market capitalization of $905.07 million, a PE ratio of -14.07 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.33.

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

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

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.