StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on 2U (NASDAQ:TWOU)

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of 2U (NASDAQ:TWOU) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the software maker’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC cut shares of 2U from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of 2U from $2.00 to $1.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 2U currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.31.

2U Stock Down 8.1 %

TWOU opened at $0.25 on Thursday. 2U has a fifty-two week low of $0.24 and a fifty-two week high of $6.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $0.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.06 and a beta of 0.83.

2U (NASDAQ:TWOU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The software maker reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.07). 2U had a negative net margin of 33.58% and a negative return on equity of 7.92%. The firm had revenue of $255.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $275.84 million. On average, research analysts expect that 2U will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 2U

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TWOU. Norges Bank acquired a new position in 2U during the fourth quarter worth about $9,215,000. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in 2U during the first quarter worth about $9,977,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in 2U by 144.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,739,677 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $10,908,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028,476 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its position in 2U by 11.2% during the third quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 9,765,122 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $24,120,000 after acquiring an additional 981,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in 2U during the fourth quarter worth about $916,000. 80.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

2U Company Profile

2U, Inc operates as an online education platform company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Degree Program and Alternative Credential. The Degree Program segment provides the technology and services to nonprofit colleges and universities to enable the online delivery of degree programs.