2U (NASDAQ:TWOU) Now Covered by StockNews.com

Equities researchers at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of 2U (NASDAQ:TWOU) in a note issued to investors on Monday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the software maker’s stock.

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

2U Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TWOU opened at $0.36 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.09. 2U has a 52 week low of $0.31 and a 52 week high of $6.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $0.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.09 and a beta of 0.84.

2U (NASDAQ:TWOU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The software maker reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $255.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.84 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that 2U will post -0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 2U

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in 2U by 131.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 126,320 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 71,696 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in 2U by 14.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,759,732 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $4,347,000 after purchasing an additional 225,253 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in 2U by 11.2% in the third quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 9,765,122 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $24,120,000 after purchasing an additional 981,368 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 2U by 37.2% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 215,142 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 58,331 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in 2U by 232.6% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 56,607 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 39,590 shares during the period. 80.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.