2U (NASDAQ:TWOU) Now Covered by StockNews.com

Stock analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of 2U (NASDAQ:TWOU) in a research report issued on Thursday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the software maker’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC lowered 2U from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on 2U from $2.00 to $1.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.31.

2U Stock Performance

Shares of 2U stock opened at $0.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $23.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $0.41 and its 200 day moving average is $1.06. 2U has a 1 year low of $0.27 and a 1 year high of $6.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

2U (NASDAQ:TWOU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The software maker reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.07). 2U had a negative return on equity of 7.92% and a negative net margin of 33.58%. The firm had revenue of $255.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $275.84 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that 2U will post -0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 2U

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of 2U by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 9,765,122 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $24,120,000 after purchasing an additional 981,368 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 2U by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,153,185 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $44,707,000 after acquiring an additional 458,189 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in 2U by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,817,383 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $12,450,000 after acquiring an additional 77,706 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in 2U by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,769,009 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $23,492,000 after acquiring an additional 177,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in 2U by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,759,732 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $4,347,000 after acquiring an additional 225,253 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.53% of the company’s stock.

2U Company Profile

2U, Inc operates as an online education platform company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Degree Program and Alternative Credential. The Degree Program segment provides the technology and services to nonprofit colleges and universities to enable the online delivery of degree programs.