Invenomic Capital Management LP Raises Stock Position in Coursera, Inc. $COUR

Key Points

• Invenomic Capital Management sharply increased its Coursera stake by 207.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 906,224 shares worth about $6.67 million.
• Several other large institutional investors also boosted holdings, and 89.55% of Coursera’s stock is now owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Coursera’s board authorized a $500 million share buyback, even as insiders have been selling shares and the stock trades near its 52-week low of $5.00.

Invenomic Capital Management LP grew its stake in Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR - Free Report) by 207.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 906,224 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 611,325 shares during the quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP owned about 0.54% of Coursera worth $6,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COUR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Coursera by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,116,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,619,000 after buying an additional 2,195,148 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in Coursera by 97.0% during the 4th 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. 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 valued at $88,708,000 after acquiring an additional 2,739,039 shares in the last quarter. Mak Capital One LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coursera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,610,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coursera by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,359,248 shares of the company's stock worth $24,729,000 after acquiring an additional 106,287 shares in the last quarter. 89.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.52, for a total value of $50,447.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 255,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,412,755.68. This represents a 3.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Insight Holdings Group, Llc sold 1,466,372 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total transaction of $7,683,789.28. Following the sale, the insider owned 419,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,199,668.16. The trade was a 77.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,009,139 shares of company stock worth $10,643,180 over the last three months. 16.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coursera Stock Down 0.2%

COUR stock opened at $5.32 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5.66 and a 200 day moving average of $6.31. The firm has a market cap of $900.50 million, a PE ratio of -13.99 and a beta of 1.25. Coursera, Inc. has a twelve month low of $5.00 and a twelve month high of $13.56.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $195.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.17 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Coursera, Inc. will post -0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coursera announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, May 18th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 55.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on COUR shares. Wall Street Zen cut Coursera from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $7.50 price objective on Coursera in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of Coursera in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Coursera from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Coursera from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coursera has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.50.

About Coursera

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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