Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Shares Down 5.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) traded down 5.3% during mid-day 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 trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 2,488,794 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.13.

COUR has been the topic of a number of other reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Coursera in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Coursera in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Coursera from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $12.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Coursera in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Coursera in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coursera presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 8,078 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.17, for a total transaction of $65,997.26. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 237,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,943,054.76. The trade was a 3.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Michele M. Meyers sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.27, for a total value of $35,945.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 234,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,406,209.65. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 16.80% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Coursera

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 Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Coursera by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 70,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Coursera by 5.6% during the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 20,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Coursera by 9.2% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 13,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Coursera by 102.9% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Coursera by 2.8% during the 1st 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. 89.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coursera Trading Down 6.8%

The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of -26.14 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s 50 day moving average is $8.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.73.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $194.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. Coursera’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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.