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

Shares of Confluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFLT) fell 5.6% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $30.28 and last traded at $30.41. 506,595 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 4,190,749 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.20.

Specifically, insider Erica Schultz sold 63,729 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.47, for a total transaction of $1,878,093.63. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 502,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,806,435.28. This trade represents a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Neha Narkhede sold 40,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 20,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $621,177.96. This represents a 66.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, CFO Rohan Sivaram sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.14, for a total value of $342,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 701,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,841,689.42. This trade represents a 1.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CFLT shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Confluent from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Confluent from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Confluent from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Confluent from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.15.

Confluent Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $29.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.56. The firm has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.53 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 4.24.

Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) last released 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Confluent, Inc. will post -0.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CFLT. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Confluent by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Confluent by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Confluent by 3.6% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in Confluent by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 21,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Finally, Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. grew its stake in Confluent by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. now owns 14,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. 78.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.