Coursera Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:COUR)

Key Points

• Coursera, Inc. experienced a significant increase in options trading, with 19,884 call options purchased, marking a 1,341% increase from the usual volume.
• Analyst ratings have varied, with some firms raising price targets while others downrated the stock, resulting in a consensus price target of $10.65 and an average rating of "Hold."
• Shares of Coursera rose by 34.2%, reaching $12.19, alongside a substantial increase in trading volume with over 12 million shares exchanged.
• Insider activity noted that significant shares were sold recently, leading to a 16.80% ownership by insiders in the company.

Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders bought 19,884 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,341% compared to the average daily volume of 1,380 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COUR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of Coursera in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Coursera from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Coursera from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $12.00 price objective (up from $11.00) on shares of Coursera in a research report on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on Coursera from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.25.

Coursera Stock Down 3.2%

Coursera stock traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $12.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,217,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,127,958. Coursera has a fifty-two week low of $5.76 and a fifty-two week high of $13.56. The company has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.59 and a beta of 1.36. The business 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 results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.03. Coursera had a negative return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 7.05%. The company had revenue of $187.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $180.52 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.09 earnings per share. Coursera's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Coursera will post -0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coursera news, Director Amanda Clark sold 9,334 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.48, for a total transaction of $79,152.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 85,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $725,659.04. The trade was a 9.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 6,101 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.65, for a total value of $52,773.65. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 293,368 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,537,633.20. This trade 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 sold 24,770 shares of company stock worth $211,087. Corporate insiders own 16.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Coursera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Wyoming boosted 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 purchasing an additional 3,520 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted 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 purchasing an additional 3,919 shares in the last quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE purchased a new stake in Coursera in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Coursera in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coursera during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 89.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coursera Company Profile

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.