Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Coursera from “hold” to “buy,” contributing to a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from analysts and an average price target of $8.55.
• Coursera reported quarterly EPS of $0.17, beating estimates of $0.10, while revenue reached $298.6 million, up 59.6% year over year and ahead of expectations.
• The stock opened at $5.04, near its 52-week low of $5.00; an insider sold 9,139 shares, while institutional investors collectively own 89.55% of the company.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Coursera from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $5.50 to $6.50 in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Coursera in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research lowered Coursera from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Coursera in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coursera currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $8.55.

Coursera Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of COUR opened at $5.04 on Friday. Coursera has a fifty-two week low of $5.00 and a fifty-two week high of $12.32. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $5.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.74. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.51, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.26.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $298.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $293.61 million. Coursera had a negative net margin of 15.39% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.12 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Coursera will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Alan Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.71, for a total value of $52,183.69. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 236,237 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,348,913.27. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 16.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coursera

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Coursera by 63.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,555 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Coursera by 5.1% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 50,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,435 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coursera by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 26,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Coursera by 68.6% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,052 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Coursera by 299.7% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,912 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 4,433 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.55% of the company's stock.

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 organizations to offer learning content in areas such as business, technology, data science, health, and the humanities.

Coursera serves individual learners as well as businesses, academic institutions, and government organizations. Its offerings include subscription-based course access, career-oriented professional credentials, online bachelor's and master's degree programs, and workforce development solutions designed to help organizations train employees and other learners.

Coursera was founded in 2012 by Stanford University professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

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