Wall Street Zen Downgrades Coursera (NYSE:COUR) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Coursera from "buy" to "hold," and several other firms have cut price targets, leaving a consensus rating of Hold with an average target of $9.58.
• Q1 was mixed: revenue of $195.7M (+9.1% YoY) was roughly in line but EPS of $0.07 missed estimates and guidance plus deteriorating margins and free cash flow have raised execution concerns.
• Shares and ownership: the stock opened at $5.29 (market cap ≈ $895M, 1‑year low $5.00), an SVP recently sold shares, insiders own 16.8%, and institutional investors hold about 89.6% of the company.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley set a $7.50 target price on Coursera in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Coursera from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Coursera from $9.00 to $6.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Coursera from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Coursera in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coursera presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $9.58.

Coursera Price Performance

NYSE:COUR opened at $5.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $894.80 million, a P/E ratio of -13.91 and a beta of 1.35. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $6.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.21. Coursera has a 1 year low of $5.00 and a 1 year high of $13.56.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $195.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $195.17 million. Coursera had a negative return on equity of 5.41% and a negative net margin of 8.23%.The company's revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Coursera will post -0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.92, for a total value of $57,483.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 217,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,289,825.92. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 16.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coursera

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Coursera by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 70,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Coursera by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 13,184 shares of the company's stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 1,112 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Coursera by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 26,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 2,439 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Coursera by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 17,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,824 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.55% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Coursera

Here are the key news stories impacting Coursera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record learner growth and strong consumer momentum driven by AI content expansion — supports longer‑term TAM and monetization upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reaffirmed a "buy" and $10 price target, signaling some analyst confidence in recovery potential. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 results: revenue ~$195.7M (≈in line, +9.1% y/y) but EPS of $0.07 missed estimates — mixed fundamentals that leave room for debate on near‑term profit trajectory. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Guidance: FY revenue range $805M–$815M and Q2 revenue $196M–$200M were generally close to consensus but slightly toward the low side, limiting upside in the near term. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple price‑target cuts: JPMorgan trimmed its PT to $8 (still overweight) and RBC cut to $7 — these marks put downward pressure on sentiment despite some bullish ratings. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst critique and downgrade citing enterprise churn, shrinking adjusted‑EBITDA margins from increased product & sales investment, and deteriorating fundamentals — raises execution and margin risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Wider GAAP loss and a sharp (~88%) drop in free cash flow reported for the quarter, combined with elevated trading volume versus average, amplify near‑term selling pressure. Read More.

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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