As of April 21, 2023, Coursera Inc. has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by thirteen research firms, as reported by Bloomberg.com. Of these researchers, five have given the stock a hold rating while six others have issued a buy rating. The company’s average 12-month target price among analysts who have updated their coverage of the stock in the past year is $17.50.
Coursera Inc., founded in 2012, operates an online educational content platform that connects learners with educators, institutions, and organizations. With a wide variety of courses ranging from data science and computer science to health and social sciences, Coursera also provides campus student plans and certification education programs.
In other news relating to Coursera Inc., CAO Michele M. Meyers completed the sale of 7,438 shares of the firm’s stock on March 27th at an average price of $10.88, resulting in a total transaction amount of $80,925.44. Following this sale, Meyers now directly owns 259,291 shares valued at approximately $2,821,086.08 USD according to disclosures made public via the Securities & Exchange Commission website.
SVP Richard J. Jacquet also sold 31,881 shares on March 16th for a total value of $374,601.75 at an average price of $11.75 per share in another recent insider sale disclosure for Coursera Inc.’s publicly traded stock.
Within the past ninety days alone (as stated by recent SEC filings), insiders reportedly sold a total of 496,164 shares valued at over $5 million USD – indicating a high degree of turnover within executive ranks or even possible fluctuations in investor confidence through that period.
Despite such insider sales activity and market volatility trends previously observed over time with various IPOs within this sector – according to Bloomberg’s analysis – Coursera remains a moderate buy for investors as it expands its footprint within the lucrative online higher education and lifelong learning markets.
Coursera: Conflicting Analyst Views and Institutional Investor Moves
In recent months, Coursera has been the subject of much speculation and commentary from financial experts and research firms alike. While some analysts report bullish forecasts with “buy” ratings and price objectives topping $30, others are more cautious, lowering their target prices and issuing “hold” or even “neutral” ratings. These differing opinions on the online education company’s future trajectory may leave some investors uncertain about whether to buy, sell, or hold onto COUR stock.
KeyCorp appears among those notably optimistic about Coursera’s prospects. In its report released on February 10th, KeyCorp raised its target price for COUR from $16 to $19 while giving it an “overweight” rating. Royal Bank of Canada also sees promise in the company’s potential growth; in a March 10th report, RBC reinstated an “outperform” rating with an $18 price objective for COUR shares.
However, other research firms have adopted a more measured stance towards Coursera for various reasons. Truist Financial downgraded its rating from “buy” to “hold,” citing concerns over the economic climate’s impact on COUR and reduced its target price from $17.50 to $12 in late February. A similar adjustment came from Cantor Fitzgerald when they lowered their recommendation from “overweight” to “neutral.” This firm also decreased their price objective-the second such reduction for COUR stock in as many weeks-to $16.
Yet another notable change came when Citigroup dropped its target price for the company-by more than 25%-from $40 to just $30 on February 15th. Despite this drastic drop, Citigroup still maintained a favorable forecast for COUR in assigning it a “buy” recommendation.
Against this backdrop of conflicting assessments by research firms, potential investors must ultimately make up their minds based upon available data and market circumstances. It bears noting that Coursera’s current market capitalization stands at $1.55 billion, and its price-to-earnings (PE) ratio is a negative 8.59. COUR has fluctuated between a low of $9.81 and a high of $23.06 over the past year, and it opened on April 21st, 2023 at $10.39.
Examining recent moves from institutional investors could provide some insight into how seasoned analysts are sizing up Coursera’s future prospects. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings by 760 shares for a total of 46,140; meanwhile, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew their stake by 2.6%, adding another 929 shares to their portfolio. Arizona State Retirement System and State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System also grew their holdings in COUR stock by more modest percentages.
Ultimately whether one sees COUR as an opportunity or an obstacle will depend upon how one interprets these various signals with regard to the market trends for online education companies as well as broader economic conditions and future growth prospects for Coursera specifically. One thing is clear-the market will continue to monitor the situation closely in light of the rapidly evolving educational landscape undergirding our society as we navigate an ever-changing world post-COVID-19 pandemic reality.
