Lazard Asset Management LLC Trims Position in Coursera, Inc. $COUR

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management cut its Coursera position by 95.7% in the first quarter, selling 259,223 shares and retaining 11,540 shares valued at $67,000. Institutional investors still own approximately 89.6% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $8.55, although several firms recently lowered their targets. Coursera shares opened at $5.79, near the lower end of their 52-week range.
• Coursera beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.17 per share and $298.6 million in revenue, up 59.6% year over year. The company also authorized a $500 million share-repurchase program, while insiders sold more than $10.6 million of stock over the past three months.

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR - Free Report) by 95.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,540 shares of the company's stock after selling 259,223 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Coursera were worth $67,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Coursera by 38.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 55,891 shares of the company's stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 15,610 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Coursera by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 581,879 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,875,000 after acquiring an additional 156,566 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Coursera by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 104,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 2,847 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Coursera during the 1st quarter worth about $273,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coursera by 29.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 277,568 shares of the company's stock worth $2,431,000 after acquiring an additional 62,371 shares during the period. 89.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on COUR shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Coursera from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Coursera from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Coursera in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on Coursera from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Coursera from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $5.50 to $6.50 in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $8.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Coursera Stock Performance

COUR opened at $5.79 on Friday. Coursera, Inc. has a 1 year low of $5.00 and a 1 year high of $12.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.82. The company has a market cap of $979.57 million, a PE ratio of -8.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.24.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $298.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $293.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. Coursera's revenue was up 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Coursera, Inc. will post 0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Coursera 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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