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

Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 9,683 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,084% compared to the average daily volume of 818 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Richard J. Jacquet sold 16,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.40, for a total value of $152,966.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 249,456 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,886.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Jeffrey Nacey Maggioncalda sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.60, for a total value of $480,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,127,496 shares in the company, valued at $20,423,961.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard J. Jacquet sold 16,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.40, for a total value of $152,966.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 249,456 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,886.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 86,192 shares of company stock worth $797,237 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 16.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coursera

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of COUR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Coursera in the fourth quarter valued at $52,804,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Coursera during the second quarter worth about $9,525,000. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coursera by 164.6% during the fourth quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 1,766,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098,701 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Coursera by 158.6% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,653,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emory University purchased a new position in shares of Coursera during the fourth quarter worth about $17,893,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COUR has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Coursera from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Coursera from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Coursera in a research note on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Coursera from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Coursera in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.10.

Coursera Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COUR traded up $3.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.70. The company had a trading volume of 24,922,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,301,928. The company has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of -15.75 and a beta of 1.44. Coursera has a 1-year low of $6.35 and a 1-year high of $21.26. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.22.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $169.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.43 million. Coursera had a negative return on equity of 16.03% and a negative net margin of 16.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.24) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Coursera will post -0.45 EPS for the current year.

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.