C3.ai (NYSE:AI) Upgraded at Northland Securities

Key Points

• Northland Securities upgraded C3.ai to Strong Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $16 from $10, citing a potential new growth engine and easier year-over-year comparisons.
• Despite the upgrade, analyst sentiment remains mixed: C3.ai has an average “Reduce” rating and a $9.36 average price target, while UBS warned that the business may need several more quarters to stabilize.
• C3.ai’s latest quarter modestly beat expectations on adjusted EPS and revenue, but revenue fell 25.4% year over year and the company remains unprofitable. Insiders have also sold more than $11.7 million of stock over the past 90 days.

C3.ai (NYSE:AI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Northland Securities from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Monday, Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Citizens Jmp restated a "market perform" rating on shares of C3.ai in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. DA Davidson restated an "underperform" rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of C3.ai in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of C3.ai in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of C3.ai in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded C3.ai from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $9.36.

C3.ai Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of C3.ai stock opened at $11.58 on Monday. C3.ai has a twelve month low of $7.68 and a twelve month high of $19.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.76 and a beta of 2.11.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $52.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.06 million. C3.ai had a negative return on equity of 61.25% and a negative net margin of 192.10%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.37) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that C3.ai will post -2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at C3.ai

In other C3.ai news, CEO Thomas M. Siebel sold 162,247 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.54, for a total transaction of $1,710,083.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 722,362 shares in the company, valued at $7,613,695.48. This trade represents a 18.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Hitesh Lath sold 21,077 shares of C3.ai stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.48, for a total transaction of $220,886.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 371,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,888,457.28. This represents a 5.38% 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. Insiders have sold 1,117,809 shares of company stock valued at $11,724,230 in the last 90 days. 19.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of C3.ai

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AI. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of C3.ai by 55.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,282,183 shares of the company's stock worth $27,636,000 after buying an additional 1,166,302 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in C3.ai by 67.3% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,215,341 shares of the company's stock worth $10,233,000 after purchasing an additional 488,710 shares during the last quarter. EVR Research LP lifted its position in C3.ai by 223.8% in the 4th quarter. EVR Research LP now owns 600,400 shares of the company's stock worth $8,093,000 after buying an additional 415,000 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in C3.ai by 0.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 690,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,816,000 after acquiring an additional 5,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in C3.ai by 247.5% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 658,573 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,545,000 after acquiring an additional 469,057 shares during the last quarter. 38.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More C3.ai News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Northland upgraded C3.ai to Outperform from Market Perform and raised its price target to $16 from $10. Analyst Mike Latimore cited a potential “new growth engine” and easier year-over-year comparisons, implying substantial upside from the prior closing price. C3.ai Soars 10% as Northland Upgrade Sees “New Growth Engine” and Easing Comps Northland analyst says it's time to hop back into C3.ai stock
• Positive Sentiment: The Northland call helped C3.ai outperform several other “agentic” software names, highlighting improved investor sentiment toward the company relative to peers. SoundHound AI Slides 5% to Fresh Lows While C3.ai Climbs 4% on Northland Upgrade; UiPath Slips
• Positive Sentiment: A broader surge in enterprise software stocks provided an additional sector-level tailwind for C3.ai. C3.ai jumps 10% at the open as enterprise software stocks surge
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street Zen raised its rating on C3.ai to Hold, signaling a less negative stance but not a clearly bullish recommendation. C3.ai Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen
• Negative Sentiment: UBS said C3.ai’s business needs several more quarters to stabilize, tempering the upgrade-driven optimism and emphasizing execution risk before a sustained recovery. C3.ai Needs More Quarters to Stabilize, UBS Says

About C3.ai

C3.ai, Inc is an enterprise artificial intelligence software company that develops applications and tools designed to help organizations use AI and machine learning to analyze data, automate processes and support business decision-making. The company's offerings are intended for large commercial enterprises, government agencies and other organizations managing complex operational and data environments.

Its product portfolio includes the C3 AI Platform, which provides capabilities for developing, deploying and operating AI applications, as well as prebuilt enterprise applications.

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