Brokerages Set Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) Price Target at $9.50

Shares of Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $9.50.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on COUR shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Coursera in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on Coursera from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Coursera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Weiss Ratings lowered Coursera from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Coursera from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th.

Coursera Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of COUR opened at $5.35 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.29. Coursera has a 52-week low of $5.00 and a 52-week high of $13.56. The firm has a market cap of $905.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.07 and a beta of 1.25.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) last announced its 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). Coursera had a negative net margin of 8.23% and a negative return on equity of 5.41%. The business had revenue of $195.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Coursera will post -0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coursera announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, May 18th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 55.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Coursera

In related news, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.52, for a total transaction of $50,447.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 255,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,412,755.68. This represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insight Holdings Group, Llc sold 1,466,372 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total value of $7,683,789.28. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 419,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,199,668.16. This represents a 77.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,009,139 shares of company stock worth $10,643,180. Corporate insiders own 16.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coursera

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Coursera by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,116,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,619,000 after acquiring an additional 2,195,148 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in shares of Coursera by 97.0% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 14,590,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,389,000 after acquiring an additional 7,184,167 shares in the last quarter. Caledonia Private Investments Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Coursera by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Caledonia Private Investments Pty Ltd now owns 12,052,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,708,000 after acquiring an additional 2,739,039 shares in the last quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE acquired a new stake in shares of Coursera during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $61,178,000. Finally, Mak Capital One LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coursera during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,610,000. 89.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.