Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $5.54, but opened at $5.70. Coursera shares last traded at $5.7150, with a volume of 347,117 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COUR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Coursera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $7.50 price target on shares of Coursera in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Coursera from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Coursera from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $5.50 to $6.50 in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coursera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.55.

Coursera Trading Up 2.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.73, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5.64 and a 200-day moving average of $5.78.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $298.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $293.61 million. Coursera had a negative net margin of 15.39% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. The business’s revenue was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Coursera, Inc. will post 0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coursera announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.71, for a total value of $52,183.69. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 236,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,348,913.27. The trade was a 3.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 16.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coursera

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coursera during the second quarter worth about $116,245,000. Caledonia Private Investments Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Coursera in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $114,918,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Coursera by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,116,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,619,000 after acquiring an additional 2,195,148 shares during the last quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE acquired a new position in Coursera during the 1st quarter worth approximately $61,178,000. Finally, Mak Capital One LLC bought a new position in shares of Coursera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,610,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.