Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) Short Interest Down 25.2% in May

Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,520,000 shares, a decline of 25.2% from the May 15th total of 6,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,930,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 3.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Coursera Price Performance

COUR traded up $0.03 on Friday, reaching $8.29. 1,960,104 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,175,374. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $8.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.08. Coursera has a 52-week low of $5.76 and a 52-week high of $11.74. The company has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.28 and a beta of 1.38.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.04. Coursera had a negative net margin of 9.37% and a negative return on equity of 7.22%. The firm had revenue of $179.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.07 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Coursera will post -0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sabrina Simmons sold 9,335 shares of Coursera stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.48, for a total value of $79,160.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,215 shares of the company's stock, valued at $425,823.20. This trade represents a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Amanda Clark sold 9,334 shares of Coursera stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.48, for a total transaction of $79,152.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $725,659.04. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,770 shares of company stock worth $211,087 in the last ninety days. 16.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coursera

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Coursera by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,306,979 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,964,000 after acquiring an additional 159,820 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Coursera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,010,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Coursera by 7.7% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,986,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,232,000 after acquiring an additional 141,745 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Coursera by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,662,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,131,000 after acquiring an additional 14,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Coursera by 253.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,424,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020,969 shares during the last quarter. 89.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COUR. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Coursera in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $11.00 target price (up from $10.00) on shares of Coursera in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Coursera in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of Coursera in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Coursera from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coursera currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.40.

Coursera Company Profile

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.