Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Stock Price Up 7.9% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) traded up 7.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $5.98 and last traded at $5.8360. 2,297,332 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 5,694,227 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COUR has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $7.50 price objective on Coursera in a research report on Friday, April 24th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coursera in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Coursera from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Coursera in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a research report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.50.

Coursera Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $5.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.20. The firm has a market cap of $979.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.23 and a beta of 1.25.

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

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Insight Holdings Group, Llc sold 1,466,372 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 $2,199,668.16. This trade represents a 77.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of Coursera stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,412,755.68. This represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,009,139 shares of company stock worth $10,643,180. Corporate insiders own 16.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coursera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Coursera by 38.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 55,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 15,610 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Coursera by 36.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 581,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,875,000 after acquiring an additional 156,566 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Coursera by 2.8% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 104,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 2,847 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Coursera in the first quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Coursera by 29.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 277,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,431,000 after purchasing an additional 62,371 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.