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

Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 4,157 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 322% compared to the typical volume of 985 call options.

Coursera Stock Down 4.7 %

COUR stock traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $8.34. The company had a trading volume of 3,507,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,363,637. Coursera has a one year low of $5.76 and a one year high of $12.20. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $7.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.04 and a beta of 1.42.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.04. Coursera had a negative net margin of 11.45% and a negative return on equity of 9.42%. The company had revenue of $179.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Coursera will post -0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Coursera from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Coursera from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of Coursera in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Coursera news, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 5,613 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.26, for a total value of $46,363.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 180,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,211.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 16.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coursera

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Coursera during the fourth quarter worth about $17,010,000. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in Coursera in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,710,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Coursera by 253.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,424,354 shares of the company's stock worth $12,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020,969 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in Coursera during the fourth quarter worth $6,612,000. Finally, Senvest Management LLC boosted its stake in Coursera by 89.0% during the fourth quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 1,214,798 shares of the company's stock worth $10,326,000 after acquiring an additional 571,992 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.55% of the company's stock.

Coursera Company Profile

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.