20,610,782 Shares in Coursera, Inc. $COUR Bought by BlackRock Inc.

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 20.6 million Coursera shares worth approximately $116.2 million, giving it a 12.17% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 89.55% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with seven Buy, four Hold and one Sell rating; Coursera has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an $8.55 price target.
• Coursera exceeded quarterly expectations with $0.17 EPS and $298.6 million in revenue, up 59.6% year over year. The company also authorized a $500 million share buyback, equivalent to up to 55.9% of its outstanding stock.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 20,610,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $116,245,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 12.17% of Coursera at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Coursera by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,116,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,619,000 after acquiring an additional 2,195,148 shares during the period. Caledonia Private Investments Pty Ltd boosted its position in Coursera by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Caledonia Private Investments Pty Ltd now owns 12,052,670 shares of the company's stock worth $88,708,000 after acquiring an additional 2,739,039 shares during the period. Pale Fire Capital SE bought a new position in shares of Coursera in the first quarter worth $61,178,000. Mak Capital One LLC bought a new position in shares of Coursera in the fourth quarter worth $27,610,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coursera by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,359,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,729,000 after purchasing an additional 106,287 shares during the period. 89.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on COUR. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coursera in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Coursera from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research downgraded Coursera from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered Coursera from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Coursera from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coursera presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $8.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coursera

In other Coursera news, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.71, for a total transaction of $52,183.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 236,237 shares in the company, valued at $1,348,913.27. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 16.30% of the company's stock.

Coursera Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:COUR opened at $6.51 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $5.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.72, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.24. Coursera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $5.00 and a 1-year high of $12.32.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.07. Coursera had a negative net margin of 15.39% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. The company had revenue of $298.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $293.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Coursera, Inc. will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Coursera declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, May 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 55.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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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