Zacks Research Downgrades Coursera (NYSE:COUR) to Hold

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coursera in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Coursera from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Coursera in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Coursera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Coursera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.55.

Coursera Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:COUR opened at $6.18 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.69 and a 200 day moving average of $5.78. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.24. Coursera has a 52 week low of $5.00 and a 52 week high of $12.32.

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

Coursera announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, May 18th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 55.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coursera

In other news, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 236,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,348,913.27. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 16.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coursera

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COUR. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Coursera in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Coursera in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Coursera by 63.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 2,152 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Coursera by 224.1% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 3,415 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in Coursera in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 89.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coursera Company Profile

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.