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

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of 2U (NASDAQ:TWOU) in a research report released on Wednesday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the software maker’s stock.

TWOU has been the topic of several other reports. Needham & Company LLC lowered 2U from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on 2U from $2.00 to $1.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $4.31.

2U Trading Down 4.2 %

NASDAQ:TWOU opened at $0.35 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $0.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. 2U has a 12 month low of $0.31 and a 12 month high of $6.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.86 million, a PE ratio of -0.09 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $275.84 million. Research analysts predict that 2U will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 2U

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 2U by 76.1% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 627,394 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 271,133 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in 2U by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 108,925 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 37,328 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in 2U by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 210,613 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 84,293 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in 2U in the fourth quarter worth about $916,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in 2U by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,331,482 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 438,007 shares in the last quarter. 80.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About 2U

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.