Short Interest in Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) Increases By 28.0%

Key Points

• Short interest in Coursera, Inc. increased by 28.0% in August, reaching a total of 6,400,000 shares, indicating a growing bearish sentiment among investors.
• The company reported a revenue of $187.10 million for the last quarter, a 9.9% increase year-over-year, and it beat analysts' expectations by $6.58 million.
• Coursera's stock price recently rose to $11.33, and analysts have varying price targets, with recent estimates ranging from $10.00 to $15.00, reflecting mixed outlooks for the stock.

Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,400,000 shares, an increase of 28.0% from the August 15th total of 5,000,000 shares. Approximately 4.7% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,900,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 2,900,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 4.7% of the company's shares are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Michele M. Meyers sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.94, for a total transaction of $29,850.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 241,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,881,062.30. This trade represents a 1.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 24,631 shares of Coursera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.14, for a total value of $274,389.34. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 258,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,879,979.64. This trade represents a 8.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 189,631 shares of company stock valued at $2,225,604. 16.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coursera

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COUR. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Coursera by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 101,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Coursera by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 38,746 shares of the company's stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 12,749 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its stake in Coursera by 959.1% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 3,520 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in Coursera in the fourth quarter worth $8,710,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in Coursera by 636.2% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 625,000 shares of the company's stock worth $5,312,000 after purchasing an additional 540,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.55% of the company's stock.

Coursera Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:COUR traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $11.66. 3,739,431 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,217,824. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of -35.33 and a beta of 1.40. Coursera has a one year low of $5.76 and a one year high of $13.56. The business's fifty day moving average is $11.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.06.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.03. Coursera had a negative net margin of 7.05% and a negative return on equity of 5.16%. The business had revenue of $187.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.09 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Coursera has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Coursera will post -0.28 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COUR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $12.00 price target (up previously from $11.00) on shares of Coursera in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Coursera from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $7.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Coursera from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of Coursera in a report on Monday, July 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coursera has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.40.

About Coursera

Coursera, Inc operates an online educational content platform in the United States, Europe, Africa, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Consumer, Enterprise, and Degrees. The company offers guided projects, courses, and specializations, as well as online degrees; and certificates for entry-level professional, non-entry level professional, university, and MasterTrack.