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

Confluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFLT) 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 trading hands.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFLT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Confluent in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Confluent from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America reduced their target price on Confluent from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Confluent from $38.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Confluent from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Confluent presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.88.

Confluent Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $22.39 and its 200 day moving average is $24.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 4.24 and a current ratio of 4.24. The stock has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.39 and a beta of 0.82.

Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Confluent had a negative net margin of 38.35% and a negative return on equity of 34.05%. The business had revenue of $250.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.98 million. Analysts anticipate that Confluent, Inc. will post -0.9 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Confluent

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Confluent during the second quarter worth about $68,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Confluent in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $68,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in Confluent by 125.0% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Confluent by 40.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Confluent by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. 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.