Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Given Buy Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Coursera (NYSE:COUR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $10.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 84.50% from the stock’s previous close.

COUR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Coursera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Coursera from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Coursera from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on shares of Coursera from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Coursera from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Eight research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.50.

Coursera Trading Up 2.1%

COUR stock opened at $5.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.23. Coursera has a 12-month low of $5.00 and a 12-month high of $13.56. The company has a market cap of $917.78 million, a PE ratio of -14.26 and a beta of 1.25.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $195.70 million during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Coursera will post -0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coursera declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, May 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 55.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coursera news, major shareholder Insight Holdings Group, Llc sold 1,466,372 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total value of $7,683,789.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 419,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,199,668.16. This trade represents a 77.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of Coursera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.52, for a total transaction of $50,447.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 255,934 shares in the company, valued at $1,412,755.68. This represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,009,139 shares of company stock valued at $10,643,180. 16.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coursera

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COUR. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Coursera by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 509,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,000 after buying an additional 83,603 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in Coursera in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in shares of Coursera by 5.1% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 50,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,435 shares in the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Coursera during the first quarter valued at about $6,525,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Coursera by 731.5% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 485,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,825,000 after acquiring an additional 427,068 shares during the last quarter. 89.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.