Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Sets New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• JPMorgan downgraded Coursera from “overweight” to “neutral” and cut its price target from $8 to $5, sending shares to a new 52-week low of $3.68.
• Coursera’s third-quarter results beat expectations, with adjusted EPS of $0.21 and revenue of $376.7 million, up 94% year over year. However, management forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $358 million–$366 million, implying a sequential decline.
• The company expects more than $150 million in gross cost savings by year-end, but its negative net margin and continued execution risks remain concerns; analysts’ consensus rating is “Hold” with an average target of $6.90.

Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded the stock from an overweight rating to a neutral rating. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $5.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $8.00. Coursera traded as low as $3.68 and last traded at $3.8850, with a volume of 3,062,334 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.66.

COUR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Coursera from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Coursera from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $5.50 to $6.50 in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Coursera from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Coursera from $10.00 to $6.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Coursera from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gregory Hart sold 10,308 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total transaction of $52,673.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,539,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,864,305.33. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Pale Fire Capital Se acquired 1,332,742 shares of Coursera stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $5.06 per share, for a total transaction of $6,743,674.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 27,806,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $140,700,459.90. The trade was a 5.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 16.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Coursera News

Here are the key news stories impacting Coursera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Coursera reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.21 per share, exceeding estimates of approximately $0.18–$0.19. Revenue reached $376.7 million, above the $368.5 million consensus and up 94% year over year. Coursera Q3 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The company expects to achieve more than $150 million in gross cost savings by year-end as integration efforts advance. Management highlighted margin expansion and synergy momentum, which could support profitability if savings are realized. Coursera Q4 Revenue and Cost Savings Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Coursera forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $358 million to $366 million. The outlook reflects continued scale but implies a sequential decline from the third quarter, making execution of the integration and cost-cutting program especially important. Coursera Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan downgraded COUR from “overweight” to “neutral” and reduced its price target from $8 to $5. The lower target signals less confidence in near-term upside, even though it remains above the referenced trading level. JPMorgan Analyst Recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appear to be treating the weaker fourth-quarter revenue outlook as more important than the earnings beat. Coursera also continues to report a negative net margin, underscoring that the company must convert its planned synergies into sustainable profitability.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COUR. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Coursera during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Coursera by 63.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,555 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Coursera by 299.7% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 4,433 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Coursera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Coursera by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,672 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.55% of the company's stock.

Coursera Trading Down 15.6%

The company's 50-day moving average is $5.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.24.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.03. Coursera had a negative net margin of 15.39% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. The firm had revenue of $376.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $368.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. Coursera's quarterly revenue was up 94.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Coursera, Inc. will post 0.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Coursera

Coursera, Inc is an online learning platform that provides access to courses, professional certificates, guided projects, and degree programs. The company works with universities, colleges, and industry partners to offer content in areas such as business, technology, data science, computer science, and personal development.

Coursera serves individual learners, businesses, governments, and academic institutions in countries around the world. Its enterprise and government offerings support employee training, workforce development, and large-scale education initiatives, while its consumer platform allows learners to enroll in individual courses or broader credential and degree programs.

Coursera was founded in 2012 by computer-science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller.

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