Wall Street Zen Upgrades Coursera (NYSE:COUR) to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Coursera from a "hold" to a "buy," while analyst coverage remains mixed (8 Buys, 5 Holds, 2 Sells) with a consensus price target of $10.62.
• Shares slipped about 4.4% to open at $5.36, leaving Coursera with a market cap around $906.7 million and a 12‑month range of $5.22–$13.56.
• Q4 results met expectations with $0.06 EPS and $196.9M revenue (up 9.9% YoY), but the company still shows negative margins and analysts expect -0.28 EPS for the current year.

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

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Coursera in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Coursera in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Coursera in a research note on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Coursera from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of Coursera in a research note on Friday, February 6th. 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 MarketBeat, Coursera has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.62.

Coursera Trading Down 4.4%

Coursera stock opened at $5.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $906.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.27 and a beta of 1.35. Coursera has a 12 month low of $5.22 and a 12 month high of $13.56. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $6.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.57.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06. Coursera had a negative return on equity of 5.17% and a negative net margin of 6.73%.The firm had revenue of $196.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.08 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Coursera will post -0.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coursera

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Coursera by 769.3% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 13,248 shares of the company's stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 11,724 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coursera by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 426,353 shares of the company's stock worth $3,138,000 after acquiring an additional 107,920 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coursera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $508,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Coursera by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,737,297 shares of the company's stock worth $20,147,000 after acquiring an additional 154,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Coursera by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 284,476 shares of the company's stock worth $2,094,000 after acquiring an additional 51,642 shares during the last quarter. 89.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coursera Company 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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