Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Position in Coursera, Inc. $COUR

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) by 42.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 223,085 shares of the company’s stock after selling 167,209 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Coursera were worth $1,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Krilogy Financial LLC purchased a new position in Coursera in the first quarter valued at about $105,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coursera in the 1st quarter valued at about $136,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Coursera by 166.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 168,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $982,000 after buying an additional 105,277 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Coursera by 769.3% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 13,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 11,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Coursera by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 426,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,138,000 after buying an additional 107,920 shares during the last quarter. 89.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on COUR. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Coursera from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Coursera in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Coursera from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of Coursera from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coursera presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coursera

In other news, major shareholder Insight Holdings Group, Llc sold 1,466,372 shares of Coursera stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total value of $7,683,789.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 419,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,199,668.16. This trade represents a 77.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.52, for a total transaction of $50,447.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 255,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,412,755.68. This represents a 3.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,009,139 shares of company stock valued at $10,643,180 over the last three months. 16.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Coursera Stock Performance

NYSE:COUR opened at $5.99 on Thursday. Coursera, Inc. has a one year low of $5.00 and a one year high of $13.56. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of -15.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.13.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $195.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $195.17 million. Coursera had a negative return on equity of 5.41% and a negative net margin of 8.23%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Coursera, Inc. will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coursera announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, May 18th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 55.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Coursera Profile

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.