Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) Shares Up 4.2% – Still a Buy?

Confluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFLT)’s share price traded up 4.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $21.84 and last traded at $21.72. 632,409 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 4,375,214 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CFLT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Confluent from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Confluent in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Confluent from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup cut their price target on Confluent from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Confluent to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.97.

Confluent Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.78 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average is $20.42 and its 200 day moving average is $25.39. The company has a current ratio of 4.44, a quick ratio of 4.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $234.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.49 million. Confluent had a negative net margin of 42.70% and a negative return on equity of 37.78%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Confluent, Inc. will post -0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Confluent

In related news, CEO Edward Jay Kreps sold 232,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.99, for a total transaction of $4,647,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 452,488 shares in the company, valued at $9,045,235.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CTO Chad Verbowski sold 13,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.68, for a total value of $293,547.20. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 496,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,770,775.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Edward Jay Kreps sold 232,500 shares of Confluent stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.99, for a total transaction of $4,647,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 452,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,045,235.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 524,453 shares of company stock worth $10,833,388. Insiders own 13.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Confluent

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Confluent by 109.9% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 94,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,935,000 after buying an additional 49,699 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Confluent by 110.3% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 60,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 31,729 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Confluent by 48.1% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 67,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after buying an additional 22,000 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Confluent by 85.0% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 85,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after buying an additional 39,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its position in Confluent by 109.2% in the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 7,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 3,821 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.09% of the company’s stock.

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.