Pale Fire Capital SE Takes $61.18 Million Position in Coursera, Inc. $COUR

Pale Fire Capital SE acquired a new stake in Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,511,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,178,000. Coursera makes up 5.2% of Pale Fire Capital SE’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Pale Fire Capital SE owned approximately 0.06% of Coursera at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COUR. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in Coursera by 97.0% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 14,590,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,389,000 after buying an additional 7,184,167 shares in the last quarter. Mak Capital One LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coursera in the fourth quarter worth $27,610,000. 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. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Coursera by 341.6% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,955,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,612,000 after acquiring an additional 2,286,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Coursera by 15.8% during 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 during the period. 89.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coursera in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of Coursera from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Coursera from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.50.

Coursera Price Performance

NYSE:COUR opened at $5.37 on Friday. Coursera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $5.00 and a 12 month high of $13.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $908.46 million, a PE ratio of -14.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $5.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.91.

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 business had revenue of $195.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Coursera, Inc. will post 0.07 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Transactions at Coursera

In other news, major shareholder Insight Holdings Group, Llc sold 1,466,372 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider owned 419,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,199,668.16. This trade represents a 77.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.52, for a total value of $50,447.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 255,934 shares in the company, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,009,139 shares of company stock worth $10,643,180. Company insiders own 16.30% of the company’s stock.

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.