Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Stock

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised the price target for Coursera from $10.00 to $13.00, reflecting a potential upside of 5.46% from its current price.
• Coursera reported earnings per share of $0.12, exceeding the consensus estimate, along with 9.9% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Several analysts have varying ratings for Coursera, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price averaging $10.65.
• Institutional investors own approximately 89.55% of Coursera's stock, with significant increases in holdings by multiple hedge funds recently.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $10.00 to $13.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen cut Coursera from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Coursera from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Coursera from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of Coursera in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Coursera from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coursera presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.25.

Coursera Stock Up 36.9%

NYSE COUR traded up $3.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $12.43. 26,680,310 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,987,202. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.66 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.14. Coursera has a 12-month low of $5.76 and a 12-month high of $12.49.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $187.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $180.52 million. Coursera had a negative return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 7.05%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Coursera will post -0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sabrina Simmons sold 9,335 shares of Coursera stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.48, for a total value of $79,160.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $425,823.20. This trade represents a 15.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 6,101 shares of Coursera stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.65, for a total value of $52,773.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 293,368 shares in the company, valued at $2,537,633.20. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,770 shares of company stock worth $211,087. 16.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Coursera by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 38,746 shares of the company's stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 12,749 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in Coursera by 582.9% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 213,753 shares of the company's stock worth $1,817,000 after buying an additional 182,453 shares during the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC purchased a new position in Coursera during the 4th quarter worth $635,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Coursera by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 260,866 shares of the company's stock worth $2,217,000 after buying an additional 42,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Coursera by 340.9% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 273,147 shares of the company's stock worth $2,322,000 after buying an additional 211,191 shares during the last quarter. 89.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.