Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Confluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFLT) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $28.53, but opened at $27.47. Confluent shares last traded at $27.42, with a volume of 517,800 shares changing hands.

Specifically, CEO Edward Jay Kreps sold 232,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.29, for a total value of $6,809,925.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 452,488 shares in the company, valued at $13,253,373.52. This trade represents a 33.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Matthew Craig Miller sold 1,084,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.90, for a total value of $31,335,085.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on CFLT shares. Baird R W raised Confluent to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Confluent from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Confluent from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective (down previously from $36.00) on shares of Confluent in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Confluent from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.88.

Confluent Stock Down 5.1 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $22.39 and a 200 day moving average of $24.58. The company has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a PE ratio of -24.39 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 4.24 and a quick ratio of 4.24.

Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $250.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $243.98 million. Confluent had a negative return on equity of 34.05% and a negative net margin of 38.35%. Equities research analysts predict that Confluent, Inc. will post -0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Confluent

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Confluent in the 2nd quarter worth about $68,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Confluent by 125.0% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Confluent by 40.3% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Confluent in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Confluent by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.09% of the company’s stock.

About Confluent

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.