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

Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 9,683 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,084% compared to the average daily volume of 818 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on COUR. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Coursera from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Coursera in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Coursera from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Coursera from $21.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Coursera from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coursera currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.10.

Coursera Price Performance

Coursera stock traded up $3.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $10.70. The stock had a trading volume of 24,922,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,301,928. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.22. Coursera has a twelve month low of $6.35 and a twelve month high of $21.26. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.75 and a beta of 1.44.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.06. Coursera had a negative net margin of 16.05% and a negative return on equity of 16.03%. The firm had revenue of $169.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.24) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Coursera will post -0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coursera news, CEO Jeffrey Nacey Maggioncalda sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.60, for a total value of $480,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,127,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,423,961.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Amanda Clark sold 8,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.72, for a total transaction of $62,477.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 76,266 shares in the company, valued at $588,773.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey Nacey Maggioncalda sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.60, for a total transaction of $480,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,127,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,423,961.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,192 shares of company stock worth $797,237. Insiders own 16.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coursera

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Coursera by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 472,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,385,000 after buying an additional 62,312 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Coursera in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,525,000. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Coursera in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,048,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in Coursera by 7,568.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 3,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in Coursera by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 25,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.55% of the company’s stock.

About Coursera

Coursera, Inc operates an online educational content platform in the United States, Europe, Africa, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Consumer, Enterprise, and Degrees. The company offers guided projects, courses, and specializations, as well as online degrees; and certificates for entry-level professional, non-entry level professional, university, and MasterTrack.