Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on C3.ai (NYSE:AI)

C3.ai, Inc. (NYSE:AI) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Investors acquired 190,828 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 407% compared to the typical volume of 37,636 call options.

C3.ai Stock Performance

AI opened at $10.45 on Friday. C3.ai has a 52-week low of $7.68 and a 52-week high of $20.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of -3.39 and a beta of 2.10.

C3.ai (NYSE:AI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $52.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.06 million. C3.ai had a negative net margin of 192.10% and a negative return on equity of 60.82%. C3.ai’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.37) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that C3.ai will post -2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AI shares. KeyCorp reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of C3.ai in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of C3.ai in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of C3.ai in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of C3.ai in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on C3.ai from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, C3.ai has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $8.70.

C3.ai News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting C3.ai this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bookings surged 73% sequentially in fiscal Q1 2027, helped by sales-force restructuring and renewed demand. C3.ai signed 22 new customer agreements, including Ford and several U.S. government agencies, while federal-sector bookings rose 138% year over year. C3.ai Posts 73% Bookings Growth As Free Cash Flow Turns Positive
• Positive Sentiment: Free cash flow returned to positive territory, and the company retains approximately $650 million in cash. That liquidity gives C3.ai additional time to execute its turnaround and pursue enterprise and government opportunities.
• Positive Sentiment: C3.ai reported a quarterly loss of $0.20 per share, better than the expected $0.26 loss, while revenue of $52.38 million modestly exceeded estimates. Seeking Alpha upgraded the stock to Buy, citing stronger bookings and founder Thomas Siebel’s renewed leadership. C3.ai: Early Turnaround Signals Are Here
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Thomas Siebel sold 16,890 shares worth about $174,000 to cover tax withholding tied to equity vesting. The sale reduced his direct ownership by 2.24%, but its stated purpose makes it a weaker bearish signal than a discretionary insider sale. C3.ai CEO Thomas Siebel Sells Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue fell approximately 25% year over year to $52.4 million, and subscription revenue also declined. Management’s fiscal 2027 revenue outlook of $210 million to $240 million is broadly cautious, while quarterly revenue guidance of $53 million came in below analyst expectations. C3.ai Posts Sales In Line but Guidance Misses Expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains unfavorable: Canaccord reiterated Hold with a $10 target, Citizens JMP and Citigroup maintained Market Perform, while DA Davidson and UBS kept Underperform ratings. The reported consensus rating is Reduce, with an average target of $8.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas Siebel sold 16,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.30, for a total value of $173,967.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 738,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,603,542.40. This represents a 2.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Stephen Ehikian sold 50,542 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.45, for a total transaction of $477,621.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 651,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,153,178.50. This represents a 7.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,258,650 shares of company stock valued at $13,258,862. Corporate insiders own 26.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of C3.ai by 683.6% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,292 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in C3.ai by 76.4% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in C3.ai by 66.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its stake in C3.ai by 839.1% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 2,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in C3.ai by 48.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.96% of the company’s stock.

C3.ai Company Profile

C3.ai, Inc is a leading enterprise software provider focused on delivering scalable artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to large organizations. The company’s core offering, the C3 AI Suite, is a comprehensive, model-driven platform that unifies data ingestion, model development, and application deployment. Through its suite of tools, C3.ai enables customers to accelerate digital transformation initiatives by applying advanced machine learning, predictive analytics, and AI-driven insights across a broad range of business functions.

The C3 AI Suite provides a low-code environment for data scientists and application developers to rapidly design, test, and deploy enterprise-scale AI applications.