UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Stock

Key Points

• UBS Group has raised its price target for Coursera from $8.50 to $10.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating, which indicates a potential downside of 16.63% from the current stock price.
• Several other analysts have also updated their ratings, with the Royal Bank of Canada setting a target of $13.00 and Needham & Company reaffirming a "buy" rating at $11.00.
• The stock has increased by 32.1%, reaching a price of $12.00, as trading volume significantly surpassed the average with over 13 million shares exchanged.
• Coursera's latest earnings report showed a 9.9% year-over-year revenue growth, reporting $187.10 million, which exceeded analysts' expectations.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by investment analysts at UBS Group from $8.50 to $10.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. UBS Group's target price would indicate a potential downside of 17.46% from the company's previous close.

COUR has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Coursera from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Coursera from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Coursera in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Bank of America raised 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 note on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $12.00 price target (up from $11.00) on shares of Coursera in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $11.25.

Coursera Stock Down 3.2%

COUR traded down $0.40 on Friday, hitting $12.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,217,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,127,958. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $8.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.16. Coursera has a 12 month low of $5.76 and a 12 month high of $13.56. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.59 and a beta of 1.36.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 5.22%. The company had revenue of $187.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Coursera will post -0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Coursera

In other news, Director Sabrina Simmons sold 9,335 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.48, for a total transaction of $79,160.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 50,215 shares in the company, valued at $425,823.20. This trade represents a 15.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 6,101 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.65, for a total transaction of $52,773.65. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 293,368 shares in the company, valued at $2,537,633.20. The trade was a 2.04% 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 90 days. 16.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coursera

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Coursera by 1,848.6% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,131 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 3,919 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,520 shares during the last quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE bought a new stake in Coursera in the 1st quarter valued at $67,000. Xponance Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Coursera in the 1st quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coursera in the 1st quarter worth $71,000. 89.55% of the stock is currently owned by 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.