Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Coursera (NYSE:COUR)

Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 6,382 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 324% compared to the average volume of 1,504 call options.

Coursera Stock Performance

Shares of COUR stock traded up $0.28 on Wednesday, hitting $6.49. 1,418,966 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,320,423. Coursera has a twelve month low of $5.47 and a twelve month high of $13.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $6.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of -20.93 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,710 shares of Coursera stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.92, for a total value of $57,483.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 217,876 shares in the company, valued at $1,289,825.92. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 16.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coursera

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 11,724 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Coursera by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 426,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,138,000 after buying an additional 107,920 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coursera during the fourth quarter valued at about $508,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coursera by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,737,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,147,000 after acquiring an additional 154,497 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Coursera by 22.2% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COUR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Coursera from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a research note on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Coursera from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Coursera from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coursera in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.62.

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.