COUR - Coursera crashes 35% as Stifel downgrades following weak Q2 outlook

Coursera ( NYSE: COUR ) shares crashed 35% on Thursday as investment firm Stifel downgraded the online course software company after it issued a weak second-quarter and guidance.

Analyst Scott Devitt lowered the firm's rating on Coursera ( COUR ) shares to hold from buy and cut the price target nearly in half to $14, noting that while the long-term outlook is still "appealing," there is little going right for the company in the interim.

"...[W]e see few catalysts as the company works through a period of slower growth, which management primarily attributes to macro weakness and headwinds impacting enrollments," Devitt wrote in a note to clients.

"We view the stock as a 'show me' story from here as we  wait for evidence of reaccelerating growth and more meaningful progress on the path to profits," Devitt added.

Coursera ( COUR ) lost an adjusted 34 cents per share on $124.75M in revenue during the quarter, compared to estimates of a loss of 31 cents per share and $130.9M in sales.

For the full-year, Coursera ( COUR ) now expects sales to be between $509M and $515M, compared to a previous outlook of $538M to $546M.

On the earnings call, Coursera ( COUR ) CEO Jeff Maggioncalda said the company's consumer and degrees segments were especially weak .

Analysts have been mixed on Coursera ( COUR ). It had an average rating of HOLD from Seeking Alpha authors , while Wall Street analysts rate it a STRONG BUY . Conversely, Seeking Alpha's quant system, which consistently beats the market, rates COUR a HOLD .

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