C3.ai (NYSE:AI) Earns Underperform Rating from DA Davidson

Key Points

• DA Davidson reaffirmed an underperform rating on C3.ai and kept a $7 price target, implying nearly 20% downside from the current share price.
• Several other analysts also remain cautious: the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce", even though Wedbush kept an outperform rating with a $15 target.
• C3.ai’s recent quarterly results were weak, with EPS and revenue both missing estimates and revenue falling 46.1% year over year, adding to concerns about growth and profitability.

C3.ai (NYSE:AI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underperform" rating reaffirmed by analysts at DA Davidson in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $7.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson's price target would indicate a potential downside of 19.86% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of C3.ai in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets set a $7.00 price objective on shares of C3.ai in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on C3.ai from $10.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wolfe Research restated an "underperform" rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of C3.ai in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut C3.ai from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $15.93.

C3.ai Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE AI traded down $0.06 on Wednesday, hitting $8.74. 2,225,930 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,113,573. The business's 50 day moving average price is $8.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.93. C3.ai has a 52-week low of $7.68 and a 52-week high of $30.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.78 and a beta of 2.00.

C3.ai (NYSE:AI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.40) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.29) by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $53.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $75.91 million. C3.ai had a negative return on equity of 55.40% and a negative net margin of 141.35%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 46.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.12) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that C3.ai will post -3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at C3.ai

In other C3.ai news, Chairman Thomas M. Siebel sold 27,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.27, for a total value of $252,236.70. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 748,277 shares in the company, valued at $6,936,527.79. This represents a 3.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Jim H. Snabe purchased 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.00 per share, with a total value of $225,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 395,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,555,000. This represents a 6.76% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,111,051 shares of company stock valued at $9,547,130 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 26.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On C3.ai

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AI. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of C3.ai by 683.6% during the 3rd 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. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of C3.ai by 66.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in C3.ai by 76.4% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the period. Comerica Bank raised its stake in C3.ai by 839.1% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,423 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 2,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in C3.ai during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 38.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about C3.ai

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush reaffirmed its Outperform rating and kept a $15 price target, implying meaningful upside from the current share price. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity raised its price target to $8 from $7, which is a small but supportive sign that some analysts see limited downside after the recent selloff. 247WallSt article
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock is being discussed as a trending name on Zacks, reflecting heightened investor interest rather than a clear fundamental catalyst. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: C3.ai also announced preliminary fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2026 results, along with Tom Siebel returning as CEO, a leadership reset that may help stabilize the business but also signals ongoing transition. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s updated revenue guidance was roughly in line to slightly above expectations, which may limit further selling but does not yet indicate a strong growth reacceleration. Zacks article
• Negative Sentiment: The company’s earlier quarterly results missed estimates, with revenue well below consensus, reinforcing concerns about slowing growth and profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: The stock recently fell sharply in market trading, reflecting investor concern over execution and the outlook following the weak earnings report. Yahoo Finance article

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.

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