Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Shares of Confluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFLT) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $23.07, but opened at $27.61. Confluent shares last traded at $28.00, with a volume of 3,075,631 shares trading hands.

The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $250.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.98 million. Confluent had a negative return on equity of 37.78% and a negative net margin of 42.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CFLT shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Confluent from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Confluent from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Confluent from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded Confluent to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Confluent from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Confluent currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.28.

Insider Transactions at Confluent

In other Confluent news, CEO Edward Jay Kreps sold 232,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.13, for a total transaction of $4,912,725.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 452,488 shares in the company, valued at $9,561,071.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Confluent news, CMO Stephanie Buscemi sold 3,866 shares of Confluent stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.68, for a total transaction of $83,814.88. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 161,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,070.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward Jay Kreps sold 232,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.13, for a total transaction of $4,912,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 452,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,561,071.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 524,453 shares of company stock valued at $10,833,388. Insiders own 13.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Confluent

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Confluent during the second quarter valued at about $193,403,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Confluent in the 1st quarter worth approximately $181,075,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Confluent in the first quarter valued at approximately $144,563,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Confluent by 17.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,581,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,587,169 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Confluent by 60.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,510,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316,804 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.09% of the company’s stock.

Confluent Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.69. The company has a quick ratio of 4.44, a current ratio of 4.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.18 and a beta of 0.88.

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.