Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Reaches New 12-Month High on Strong Earnings

Key Points

• Coursera's stock reached a new 12-month high of $12.40 after reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with a revenue of $187.10 million, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The company posted earnings per share of $0.12, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09, and marking a 9.9% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Coursera, with Cantor Fitzgerald increasing it from $10.00 to $13.00, indicating positive sentiment from Wall Street.
• Insider trading activities showed notable sales from executives, with 16.80% of the stock currently owned by company insiders, signaling potential confidence or restructuring within the company.

Shares of Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $12.40 and last traded at $11.91, with a volume of 5364421 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.08.

The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.03. Coursera had a negative return on equity of 7.22% and a negative net margin of 9.37%. The company had revenue of $187.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $180.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.09 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on COUR. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Coursera from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Coursera from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America upgraded Coursera from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $7.00 to $12.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Coursera from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.40.

Insider Activity at Coursera

In related news, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 6,101 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.65, for a total transaction of $52,773.65. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 293,368 shares in the company, valued at $2,537,633.20. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Amanda Clark sold 9,334 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.48, for a total value of $79,152.32. Following the sale, the director owned 85,573 shares of the company's stock, valued at $725,659.04. This represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,770 shares of company stock worth $211,087 in the last ninety days. 16.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COUR. Norges Bank bought a new position in Coursera during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $17,010,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Coursera in the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,764,000. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Coursera in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,710,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Coursera by 253.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,424,354 shares of the company's stock worth $12,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in shares of Coursera in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,612,000. Institutional investors own 89.55% of the company's stock.

Coursera Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.06 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.11.

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.

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