Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Trading Down 5.3% After Analyst Downgrade

Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR)’s stock price fell 5.3% during trading on Friday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $11.00 to $9.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Coursera traded as low as $7.86 and last traded at $7.7020. 354,332 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 2,488,794 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.13.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on COUR. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Coursera in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Coursera in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Coursera in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coursera in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Coursera in a research note on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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 Coursera stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.27, for a total transaction of $35,945.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 234,295 shares in the company, valued at $2,406,209.65. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 8,078 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.17, for a total value of $65,997.26. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 237,828 shares in the company, valued at $1,943,054.76. This represents a 3.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 16.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

More Coursera News

Here are the key news stories impacting Coursera this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded COUR to Overweight, which can attract buying interest and support the stock into the deal close. Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic rationale: coverage and news emphasize the Udemy deal expands Coursera’s enterprise/workforce training scale and course catalogue, which could drive revenue synergies over time. Coursera to boost workforce training capabilities with Udemy acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Deal mechanics are all-stock but reporting varies on valuation (headlines cite ~$930–950M as well as $2.5B figures). That ambiguity creates uncertainty around dilution and the combined company’s valuation until definitive filings are available. Coursera to Buy Udemy for $950 Million in Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder litigation risk: law firm Kahn Swick & Foti announced an investigation into whether Udemy’s shareholders are receiving fair consideration and whether the sale process was proper — this can delay closing, increase deal friction, or force concessions. Udemy Investor Alert By The Former Attorney General Of Louisiana
• Negative Sentiment: UBS cut its price target to $9 and moved to Neutral, reducing near-term analyst upside and signaling more cautious expectations ahead of integration and potential dilution. Coursera Inc (COUR) PT Lowered to $9 at UBS
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Alan Cardenas sold ~8,078 shares (small position reduction). Insider sales can add pressure to sentiment when combined with deal uncertainty. Alan Cardenas Sells 8,078 Shares of Coursera Stock

Institutional Trading of Coursera

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Coursera by 341.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,955,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,612,000 after acquiring an additional 2,286,395 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Coursera during the second quarter worth $15,435,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Coursera during the first quarter valued at $7,764,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $27,162,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Coursera by 231.5% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,447,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,946,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010,592 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.55% of the company’s stock.

Coursera Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $8.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of -26.14 and a beta of 1.37.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.01. Coursera had a negative return on equity of 4.75% and a negative net margin of 6.19%.The firm had revenue of $194.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Coursera, Inc. will post -0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.