Initial public offerings or IPOs are known as a great way for investors to make a big profit in a relatively short time. On average, they can bring investors 40% returns in the first 3 months. Once the initial funding stages are out of the way, IPOs can be a great way for companies to gain exposure to the open market, help the company grow by attracting more capital and improve liquidity. If you like learning, MOOCs and maybe you’ve already done a few courses on Coursera, you might be wondering “is Coursera publicly traded?” as you might be interested in investing in it. Read on to find out about Coursera stock IPO and all the important information about Coursera IPO 2021.
Coursera History
Coursera was founded in 2011 and launched in 2012 by two distinguished Stanford University professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller. The idea was to offer quality online education to the public and initially Coursera offered free MOOCs. In December 2021, within 9 months of the launch, the platform reached $1 million in revenue. When former Yale University President Rock Levin joined, the company expanded to paid certificate programs and online degrees. The first Master’s Degrees became available in 2015.
The current CEO Jeff Maggioncalda took leadership in 2017, having built a successful retirement investment company Financial Engines with Nobel Prize winner William Sharpe. The first bachelor’s degree came in 2018, and in 2019 Coursera made the first acquisition, Rhyme Softworks — a startup that built an online platform for hands-on programming and other projects. This cloud-based platform became the basis for Coursera’s new product Coursera Labs, which enabled educational and industry partners to build their own learning tools.
Coursera became a unicorn startup in 2019 after Series E funding and the resulting post-money valuation of $1 billion. At this point, the company was a market leader in free and affordable online education at any level.
The year 2020 was particularly good for Coursera. The pandemic made educational institutions struggle but boosted Coursera’s growth. The company made $293 million in revenue and received $130 million in funding in July. Around the time everyone started asking themselves, “when is Coursera going public?” It was towards the end of the year that the company’s IPO process began.
Coursera serves over 77 million learners and offers over 4500 courses in 500 specializations, dozens of degrees and professional certificates.
Because of the idea of — in Ng’s own words — democratizing access to high-quality education, much of their catalog is available free of charge.
Read on to find out about Coursera IPO date and price and other key info.
Coursera Public Listing Key Data and IPO Date
Coursera IPO Date: March 31, 2021
Ticker: COUR
Exchange: NYSE
IPO stock price: $33
Valuation at IPO: $2.5 billion
Market cap (6/4/22): $3.28 billion
CEO: Jeff Maggioncalda
Category: Education
Listing method: Direct
Coursera launched its IPO on the NYSE on March 31, 2021 with the stock symbol COUR and a pre-launch valuation of 2.5 billion. Trading opened at $39 per share, 18% above the offering price of $33. The stock reached a high of $45.98 and closed at $45 — 36% up from the initial offering price, giving the company a market cap of $5.9 billion.
A week after their IPO date, the shares jumped to $62 on April 7, pushing the company’s valuation to a one-time maximum of $7 billion.
Coursera IPO underwriters were Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup Markets and UBS Securities. The company issued 15 million shares for the IPO. Coursera chose the traditional IPO path despite the rising popularity of going public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
CEO Jeff Maggioncalda, who owns 383 thousand shares worth over $8.78 million, had already accumulated a seven-figure net worth from his previous business and has a salary of over $700k at Coursera.
So What About Investing Now?
The Coursera stock price has been falling since the initial IPO highs, closing at its lowest below $17 on March 14, 2022. The stock bounced back after hitting the bottom and now trades at $23, which may be a good value entry point for the stock for those who missed out on the IPO rally as it’s 40% lower than the initial Coursera IPO price.
The company has good financials, growing revenues and great prospects considering their latest transition to B2B. The online education market has huge potential in the new world. If Coursera can continue to increase their revenue and not just the total number of learners, and if you personally believe in Coursera as the number 1 learning platform for the future, this may as well be a great long-term investment for you or at least a great addition to your stock watchlist.
Check out our IPO section to look at other scheduled IPOs. If you want to find companies that match your interests, investment goals and portfolio, try Gainy for some great IPO investment ideas, as well as established blue-chip companies and a variety of other assets.
FAQ
When is the Coursera IPO date?
The Coursera stock IPO date was on March 31, 2021. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker COUR.
Is Coursera a public company?
Yes, when a company launches an IPO they become a public company whose shares are traded on a public stock exchange.
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