Coursera's (COUR) "Outperform" Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reiterated its “outperform” rating on Coursera and kept a $7.00 price target, implying about 20% upside from the current share price.
• Coursera shares rose 7.7% to $5.83 after the analyst note, even as the stock remains well below its 52-week high of $13.56.
• The company recently authorized a $500 million share buyback, while insider selling has been notable and institutional investors continue to hold a large majority of the stock.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $7.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price points to a potential upside of 20.17% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Coursera from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $7.50 target price on shares of Coursera in a research note on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Coursera from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Coursera from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Coursera in a research note on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coursera has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.50.

Coursera Stock Up 7.7%

NYSE COUR traded up $0.41 on Wednesday, reaching $5.83. 2,992,860 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,694,227. Coursera has a 12 month low of $5.00 and a 12 month high of $13.56. The company has a market cap of $986.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.22 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $5.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.23.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01). Coursera had a negative return on equity of 5.41% and a negative net margin of 8.23%.The firm had revenue of $195.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Coursera will post -0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coursera declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Coursera

In related news, major shareholder Insight Holdings Group, Llc sold 1,466,372 shares of Coursera stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total transaction of $7,683,789.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 419,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,199,668.16. This trade represents a 77.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.52, for a total transaction of $50,447.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 255,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,412,755.68. This represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,009,139 shares of company stock valued at $10,643,180. 16.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coursera

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pale Fire Capital SE bought a new position in Coursera in the first quarter worth approximately $61,178,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Coursera by 97.0% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 14,590,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,389,000 after acquiring an additional 7,184,167 shares in the last quarter. Mak Capital One LLC bought a new position in Coursera in the 4th quarter valued at $27,610,000. Caledonia Private Investments Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Coursera by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Caledonia Private Investments Pty Ltd now owns 12,052,670 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,708,000 after purchasing an additional 2,739,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Coursera by 341.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,955,723 shares of the company's stock worth $34,612,000 after purchasing an additional 2,286,395 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.55% of the company's stock.

Coursera Company Profile

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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