Coursera Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:COUR)

Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 5,610 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 137% compared to the average volume of 2,371 call options.

Coursera Stock Up 8.7%

Shares of NYSE COUR traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.08. 4,086,646 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,939,408. The firm has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.57, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.26. Coursera has a twelve month low of $4.53 and a twelve month high of $11.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.67.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $298.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $293.61 million. Coursera had a negative net margin of 15.39% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. Research analysts expect that Coursera will post 0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on COUR shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Coursera from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Coursera from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coursera in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Coursera in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coursera currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.55.

Key Stories Impacting Coursera

Here are the key news stories impacting Coursera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pale Fire Capital expanded its Coursera position. The investment firm bought 1 million shares at an average price of $4.61, spending approximately $4.61 million and increasing its ownership by 3.6% to 28.8 million shares. The purchase followed its acquisition of 1.33 million shares for approximately $6.74 million on September 25. Repeated buying by a major shareholder can support investor confidence in COUR. Insider Buying: Coursera Major Shareholder Acquires Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional ownership and analyst sentiment remain supportive. Pale Fire Capital nearly doubled its Coursera holdings during the second quarter, while several institutional investors initiated positions. Analysts tracked in the report maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average target price of $8.55, well above recent trading levels. Coursera analyst ratings and institutional ownership
• Neutral Sentiment: Coursera appointed Tom Savage as chief legal officer and secretary. The leadership addition may strengthen the company’s legal and governance functions, but no immediate financial impact was disclosed. Tom Savage joins Coursera
• Neutral Sentiment: Coursera’s Global Skills Report highlighted U.S. AI-readiness gaps. The United States ranked eighth globally in Coursera’s AI-Human Skills Synergy Index, leading in infrastructure and policy but ranking 27th in learner proficiency and behavior. The findings reinforce potential demand for AI education, though they do not represent a direct change to financial guidance. Coursera Global Skills Report

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of Coursera stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.71, for a total transaction of $52,183.69. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 236,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,348,913.27. The trade was a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Pale Fire Capital Se bought 1,332,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.06 per share, for a total transaction of $6,743,674.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,806,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $140,700,459.90. The trade was a 5.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 16.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coursera

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its stake in shares of Coursera by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 298,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,686,000 after purchasing an additional 24,686 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Coursera by 66.7% in the 2nd quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 39,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 15,624 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Coursera by 299.7% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 4,433 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Coursera by 68.6% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Coursera by 55.4% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 60,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 21,716 shares during the period. 89.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Coursera

Coursera, Inc is an online learning platform that provides access to courses, professional certificates, guided projects, and degree programs. The company works with universities, colleges, and industry organizations to offer learning content in areas such as business, technology, data science, health, and the humanities.

Coursera serves individual learners as well as businesses, academic institutions, and government organizations. Its offerings include subscription-based course access, career-oriented professional credentials, online bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, and workforce development solutions designed to help organizations train employees and other learners.

Coursera was founded in 2012 by Stanford University professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.