Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Rating Increased to Neutral at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America upgraded Coursera's stock rating from "underperform" to "neutral" with a new price target of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of nearly 32% from its previous close.
• Coursera reported significant quarterly earnings, with $0.12 earnings per share, surpassing estimates and showing a 9.9% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Institutional investors own approximately 89.55% of Coursera's stock, reflecting strong confidence from major stakeholders in the company's future growth.

Bank of America upgraded shares of Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Free Report) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $12.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $7.00.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Coursera from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Coursera from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Coursera in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $11.00 price target (up previously from $10.00) on shares of Coursera in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $11.25.

Coursera Trading Down 3.6%

COUR stock traded down $0.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $12.07. 3,106,980 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,127,277. Coursera has a one year low of $5.76 and a one year high of $13.56. The stock has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.56 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.16.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $79,160.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,215 shares of the company's stock, valued at $425,823.20. This trade represents a 15.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Amanda Clark sold 9,334 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.48, for a total transaction of $79,152.32. Following the transaction, the director owned 85,573 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $725,659.04. This represents a 9.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,770 shares of company stock worth $211,087. Insiders own 16.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coursera

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COUR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Coursera in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $17,010,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Coursera during the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,764,000. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in Coursera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,710,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,020,969 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of Coursera during the fourth quarter worth $6,612,000. 89.55% of the stock is 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.