Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Coursera (NYSE:COUR) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on COUR. Wall Street Zen lowered Coursera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings raised Coursera from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Coursera from $7.00 to $4.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Coursera from $10.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Coursera from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.36.

Coursera Stock Down 1.7%

COUR opened at $3.73 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.67. Coursera has a 52 week low of $3.45 and a 52 week high of $8.89. The company has a market capitalization of $984.89 million, a PE ratio of -5.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.26.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.03. Coursera had a positive return on equity of 3.47% and a negative net margin of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $376.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.52 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 94.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Coursera will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Coursera

In related news, CEO Gregory M. Hart sold 10,305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.59, for a total value of $36,994.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,528,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,488,025.82. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $52,183.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 236,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,348,913.27. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 29,752 shares of company stock worth $141,853 in the last three months. Insiders own 16.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coursera

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Coursera during the 2nd quarter valued at about $116,245,000. Pale Fire Capital SE lifted its stake in Coursera by 94.4% in the second quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 20,432,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,242,000 after purchasing an additional 9,921,347 shares during the last quarter. Caledonia Private Investments Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Coursera during the second quarter valued at approximately $114,918,000. Readystate Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of Coursera by 259.2% during the second quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 4,027,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,713,000 after buying an additional 2,906,101 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Coursera during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,848,000. 89.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Coursera

Here are the key news stories impacting Coursera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Coursera’s latest reported quarter exceeded expectations, with EPS of $0.21 versus $0.18 expected and revenue of $376.7 million versus $368.5 million expected. Revenue rose sharply year over year, though the company remained loss-making on a net-margin basis.
• Positive Sentiment: A market roundup said Coursera shares had “skyrocketed,” but did not explain the catalyst. Read the article
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman Sachs assigned Coursera a “Hold” rating, signaling a wait-and-see stance rather than a strong near-term endorsement. Read the article
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst expectations have weakened: Coursera’s consensus price target was reportedly cut nearly 30% to $5.67. Other recent reports cited lower targets and rating downgrades, including a shift by JPMorgan to Neutral. Read the article
• Negative Sentiment: KeyCorp’s estimates project a loss for FY2027, despite a small expected profit in FY2026, raising concern about the durability of profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Gregory Hart sold 10,305 shares for about $37,000. The sale reduced his direct holdings by 0.67%, and he still owns more than 1.5 million shares, so its significance may be limited. Read the article

Coursera Company Profile

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 partners to offer content in areas such as business, technology, data science, computer science, and personal development.

Coursera serves individual learners, businesses, governments, and academic institutions in countries around the world. Its enterprise and government offerings support employee training, workforce development, and large-scale education initiatives, while its consumer platform allows learners to enroll in individual courses or broader credential and degree programs.

Coursera was founded in 2012 by computer-science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller.