C3.ai (NYSE:AI) Raised to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded C3.ai from “strong sell” to “sell,” but broader analyst sentiment remains negative, with a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $8.70.
• C3.ai’s latest quarterly loss of $0.20 per share beat expectations, and revenue of $52.38 million slightly exceeded estimates; however, revenue declined 25.4% year over year and the company remains deeply unprofitable.
• Insiders sold 1.26 million shares worth approximately $13.3 million over the past 90 days, while institutional ownership stands at 38.96%; some insider sales were attributed to tax withholding on vested equity awards.

C3.ai (NYSE:AI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on AI. DA Davidson reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of C3.ai in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of C3.ai in a research report on Thursday. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of C3.ai in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of C3.ai in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of C3.ai in a report 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $8.70.

C3.ai Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AI opened at $10.45 on Friday. C3.ai has a 1 year low of $7.68 and a 1 year high of $20.22. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of -3.39 and a beta of 2.10.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On C3.ai

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AI. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in C3.ai by 267.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 181,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,788,000 after buying an additional 132,056 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in C3.ai by 48.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,442 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in C3.ai during the 1st quarter valued at $346,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in C3.ai by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 242,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,111,000 after acquiring an additional 10,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of C3.ai by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 59,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,242,000 after acquiring an additional 1,503 shares during the period. 38.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about C3.ai

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.

About C3.ai

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source