Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Stock Jumps 9.4% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Coursera shares jumped 9.4% to about $3.80 in Monday trading, although volume was 33% below the average session volume.
• The company’s latest results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $0.21 versus $0.18 forecast and revenue of $376.7 million, up 94% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Coursera has a consensus “Hold” rating and a $6.36 average price target after several firms lowered their targets.

Shares of Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) rose 9.4% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $3.77 and last traded at $3.7950. 4,113,561 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 6,100,749 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COUR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Coursera from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Coursera from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Coursera from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Coursera from $7.00 to $4.50 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Coursera from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coursera presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.36.

Coursera Stock Up 9.9%

The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.31, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.27 and a 200-day moving average of $5.69.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.03. Coursera had a negative net margin of 14.35% and a positive return on equity of 3.47%. The company had revenue of $376.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $368.52 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 94.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Coursera, Inc. will post 0.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Coursera

In other Coursera news, CEO Gregory M. Hart sold 10,308 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total transaction of $52,673.88. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of Coursera stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.71, for a total value of $52,183.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 16.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coursera

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in shares of Coursera in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Coursera by 63.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 2,152 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Coursera by 299.7% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,912 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 4,433 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Coursera by 54.2% during the third 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 period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Coursera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.55% of the company's stock.

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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