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

Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 6,382 call options on the company. This is an increase of 324% compared to the typical volume of 1,504 call options.

Insider Transactions at Coursera

In other Coursera news, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.92, for a total value of $57,483.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 217,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,289,825.92. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 16.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coursera

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COUR. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Coursera during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Coursera by 102.9% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,852 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Coursera by 224.1% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 3,415 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coursera during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Coursera by 619.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 3,465 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on COUR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coursera in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Coursera from $9.00 to $6.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Coursera in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a report on Friday, February 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Coursera has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.62.

Coursera Stock Up 5.2%

COUR opened at $6.53 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $6.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.57. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.06 and a beta of 1.35. Coursera has a 52-week low of $5.47 and a 52-week high of $13.56.

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