Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an overweight rating. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $12.00 price target on the stock. Approximately 3,357,714 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 37% from the previous session’s volume of 2,442,343 shares.The stock last traded at $7.8860 and had previously closed at $7.84.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on COUR. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Coursera in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Coursera from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Coursera in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Coursera in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coursera presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coursera

In other Coursera news, CAO Michele M. Meyers sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.27, for a total value of $35,945.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 234,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,406,209.65. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 8,078 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.17, for a total value of $65,997.26. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 237,828 shares in the company, valued at $1,943,054.76. The trade was a 3.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 16.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coursera

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of COUR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coursera by 2.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,022,000 after purchasing an additional 357,264 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Coursera by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,057,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,784,000 after buying an additional 77,044 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Coursera by 341.6% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,955,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,612,000 after buying an additional 2,286,395 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Coursera by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,704,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,679,000 after buying an additional 151,000 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Coursera by 84.2% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,319,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,162,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,288 shares during the last quarter. 89.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coursera Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $8.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.90 and a beta of 1.37.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.01. Coursera had a negative net margin of 6.19% and a negative return on equity of 4.75%. The company had revenue of $194.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Coursera, Inc. will post -0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coursera Company Profile

Coursera, Inc operates an online educational content platform in the United States, Europe, Africa, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Consumer, Enterprise, and Degrees. The company offers guided projects, courses, and specializations, as well as online degrees; and certificates for entry-level professional, non-entry level professional, university, and MasterTrack.