Royal Bank Of Canada Reiterates Outperform Rating for Coursera (NYSE:COUR)

Coursera (NYSE:COUR)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $7.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 20.17% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on COUR. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Coursera from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on shares of Coursera from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $7.50 price target on shares of Coursera in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Coursera from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.50.

Coursera Trading Up 7.7%

Shares of Coursera stock traded up $0.41 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $5.83. The stock had a trading volume of 2,992,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,694,227. The business’s 50-day moving average is $5.63 and its 200 day moving average is $6.23. The firm has a market cap of $986.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.22 and a beta of 1.25. Coursera has a 12 month low of $5.00 and a 12 month high of $13.56.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $195.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.17 million. Coursera had a negative net margin of 8.23% and a negative return on equity of 5.41%. Coursera’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Coursera will post -0.09 EPS for the current year.

Coursera declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, May 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 55.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coursera news, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.52, for a total value of $50,447.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 255,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,412,755.68. This represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insight Holdings Group, Llc sold 1,466,372 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total value of $7,683,789.28. Following the sale, the insider owned 419,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,199,668.16. This represents a 77.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,009,139 shares of company stock valued at $10,643,180. Corporate insiders own 16.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coursera

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of COUR. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Coursera by 38.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 55,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 15,610 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coursera by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 581,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,875,000 after acquiring an additional 156,566 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Coursera by 2.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 104,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 2,847 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Coursera in the 1st quarter worth about $273,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coursera by 29.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 277,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,431,000 after acquiring an additional 62,371 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.55% of the company’s stock.

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.