Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Coursera from a “buy” to a “hold,” while the overall analyst consensus remains “Hold” with a $8.50 price target.
• Coursera recently reported Q1 earnings of $0.07 per share, missing estimates by a penny, though revenue of $195.7 million slightly topped expectations and rose 9.1% year over year.
• The company also authorized a $500 million share buyback, while recent insider sales and mixed analyst moves highlight ongoing investor uncertainty around the stock.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Coursera from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of Coursera from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Coursera from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Coursera from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coursera has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.50.

Coursera Stock Performance

NYSE:COUR opened at $5.37 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $5.52 and its 200 day moving average is $5.91. The firm has a market cap of $908.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.12, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.23. Coursera has a 52-week low of $5.00 and a 52-week high of $13.56.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01). Coursera had a negative net margin of 8.23% and a negative return on equity of 5.41%. The company had revenue of $195.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $195.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Coursera will post 0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coursera declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, May 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 55.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.52, for a total value of $50,447.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 255,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,412,755.68. The trade was a 3.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insight Holdings Group, Llc sold 1,466,372 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total value of $7,683,789.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 419,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,199,668.16. This represents a 77.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,009,139 shares of company stock worth $10,643,180 in the last three months. Insiders own 16.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coursera

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Coursera during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in Coursera in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Coursera by 63.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Coursera by 224.1% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 3,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coursera during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 89.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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