Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Coursera, with seven buy, four hold and one sell rating among 12 analysts. The average 12-month price target is $8.55, above the reported $6.41 share price.
• Coursera exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.17 versus the $0.10 consensus and revenue of $298.6 million, up 59.6% year over year. Despite the growth, the company posted a negative net margin of 15.39%.
• The company authorized a $500 million share-repurchase program, potentially covering up to 55.9% of outstanding shares. Institutional investors own 89.55% of Coursera, while insiders own 16.30%.

Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $8.5455.

COUR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Coursera from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Coursera in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Coursera in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings cut Coursera from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Coursera from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coursera news, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of Coursera stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.71, for a total transaction of $52,183.69. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 236,237 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,348,913.27. The trade was a 3.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 16.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Coursera

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COUR. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Coursera by 38.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 55,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 15,610 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Coursera by 36.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 581,879 shares of the company's stock worth $3,875,000 after purchasing an additional 156,566 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Coursera by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 104,795 shares of the company's stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 2,847 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Coursera in the 1st quarter worth about $273,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Coursera by 29.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 277,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,431,000 after buying an additional 62,371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.55% of the company's stock.

Coursera Trading Up 5.7%

COUR opened at $6.41 on Friday. Coursera has a 1-year low of $5.00 and a 1-year high of $12.32. The company has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.56, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.24. The company's fifty day moving average price is $5.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.79.

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

Coursera announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, May 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 55.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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