Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) Stock Price Down 5.6% After Insider Selling

Confluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFLT)’s stock price traded down 5.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $30.28 and last traded at $30.41. 506,595 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 4,190,749 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.20.

Specifically, Director Neha Narkhede sold 40,000 shares of Confluent stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.68, for a total transaction of $1,227,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $621,177.96. This trade represents a 66.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rohan Sivaram sold 11,000 shares of Confluent stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.14, for a total transaction of $342,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 701,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,841,689.42. This trade represents a 1.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on CFLT shares. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Confluent from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Confluent from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Confluent from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Confluent from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $34.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Confluent from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.15.

Confluent Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.09 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $30.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 4.24 and a current ratio of 3.99.

Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.28). Confluent had a negative net margin of 35.81% and a negative return on equity of 34.70%. On average, analysts expect that Confluent, Inc. will post -0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Confluent

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of Confluent by 1,465.6% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 30,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 28,360 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Confluent during the 3rd quarter worth about $918,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Confluent by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,284,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,549,000 after buying an additional 64,926 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Confluent by 152.4% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 68,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 41,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Confluent during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $868,000. 78.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Confluent Company Profile

Confluent, Inc operates a data streaming platform in the United States and internationally. The company provides platforms that allow customers to connect their applications, systems, and data layers, such as Confluent Cloud, a managed cloud-native software-as-a-service; and Confluent Platform, an enterprise-grade self-managed software.