Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Coursera (NYSE:COUR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Sunday morning.

COUR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $7.50 target price on Coursera in a research note on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Coursera in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coursera in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Coursera from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $8.50.

Coursera Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE COUR opened at $5.28 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.84. Coursera has a 52 week low of $5.00 and a 52 week high of $12.93. The stock has a market cap of $894.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.88, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.24.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $298.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $293.61 million. Coursera had a negative net margin of 15.39% and a negative return on equity of 2.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Coursera will post 0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Coursera announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coursera

In other 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 shares were sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total transaction of $7,683,789.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 419,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,199,668.16. This represents a 77.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.52, for a total transaction of $50,447.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 255,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,412,755.68. The trade was a 3.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 2,009,139 shares of company stock valued at $10,643,180 over the last quarter. Insiders own 16.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coursera

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Coursera in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Coursera during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Coursera by 63.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 2,152 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 3,415 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coursera in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.55% of the company’s stock.

More Coursera News

Here are the key news stories impacting Coursera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Coursera reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.17 per share, above the $0.11 consensus estimate, while revenue reached approximately $298.6 million and increased 59.6% year over year. The results also exceeded some revenue expectations. Coursera Tops Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management expects roughly a 14% adjusted EBITDA margin in 2026 and at least $85 million in annualized run-rate synergies by year-end, supporting the potential for improved profitability following its Udemy combination. Coursera EBITDA Margin and Synergies
• Positive Sentiment: Coursera announced a $100 million investment in LearnVector for an approximately one-third stake, potentially expanding its artificial-intelligence and learning technology capabilities. Zacks also upgraded COUR to a Rank #1, or Strong Buy, citing improving earnings prospects. Coursera Invests in LearnVector
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts view the quarter as a defining test of Coursera’s growth strategy: strong reported growth and cost synergies must be sustained while the company integrates Udemy and expands its AI offerings. Coursera Faces a Defining Growth Test
• Negative Sentiment: The primary reason for the selloff was lower second-quarter core revenue and investor concern that enterprise customers are pulling back. This raised questions about the quality and durability of growth, even though headline revenue and EPS were strong. Coursera Slides on Lower Second-Quarter Core Revenue
• Negative Sentiment: Coursera shares fell sharply after the results, with bearish commentary highlighting enterprise customer weakness and uncertainty surrounding the post-Udemy outlook. The $100 million LearnVector investment may also increase near-term execution and capital-allocation risk. Coursera Plunges After Q2 Results

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.