C3.ai (NYSE:AI) Sees Strong Trading Volume After Earnings Beat

Key Points

• C3.ai shares saw unusually heavy trading after the company reported quarterly results that beat expectations, with EPS of ($0.33) versus estimates for ($0.38).
• Revenue came in at $51.6 million, matching Wall Street estimates, but sales were still down 52.5% year over year, underscoring ongoing growth challenges.
• Despite the earnings pop, analysts remain cautious: several firms kept hold or underweight views, and MarketBeat’s consensus rating is “Reduce” with an average price target of $12.92.

Shares of C3.ai, Inc. (NYSE:AI - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. Approximately 3,883,152 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 38% from the previous session's volume of 6,245,976 shares.The stock last traded at $10.8650 and had previously closed at $10.71.

The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.38) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $51.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.60 million. C3.ai had a negative return on equity of 55.40% and a negative net margin of 141.35%.The business's revenue was down 52.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.16) earnings per share.

Key Stories Impacting C3.ai

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

• Positive Sentiment: C3.ai beat earnings expectations, posting a smaller-than-expected loss of $0.33 per share versus the $0.38 loss analysts expected, which helped lift sentiment. C3.ai Inc (AI) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Navigating Challenges and Strategic Restructuring
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue of $51.6 million matched expectations, and management’s Q1 fiscal 2027 guidance of $50 million to $54 million and full-year FY2027 guidance of $210 million to $240 million were roughly in line with or slightly above consensus. C3 AI Announces Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Full Fiscal Year 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Investors also appeared encouraged by turnaround efforts, including restructuring, cost-cutting plans, and founder Tom Siebel’s return as CEO alongside a reported $69 million cash injection. AI Stock Jumps 3% After-Hours — Founder Siebel Returns As CEO With $69M Cash Injection
• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens JMP reaffirmed its “market perform” rating, while Needham reiterated a “hold,” suggesting analysts remain cautious despite the earnings pop. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, CEO Thomas Siebel sold 17,350 shares, but the filing said the sale was for tax withholding tied to equity vesting, which limits the bearish read-through. Thomas Siebel Sells 17,350 Shares of C3.ai NYSE: AI Stock
• Negative Sentiment: The main concern remains the operating trend: quarterly revenue fell 52.5% year over year, showing that C3.ai is still struggling to stabilize growth. AI Q1 Deep Dive: Major Turnaround Plan and Restructuring After Revenue Decline

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of C3.ai in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of C3.ai from $10.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Citizens Jmp restated a "market perform" rating on shares of C3.ai in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of C3.ai in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of C3.ai in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $12.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen Bradley Ehikian sold 52,194 shares of C3.ai stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.22, for a total value of $429,034.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 721,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,930,606.70. The trade was a 6.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Thomas M. Siebel sold 17,350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.32, for a total value of $196,402.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 6,904,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $78,157,977.80. This trade represents a 0.25% 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 sold 1,610,039 shares of company stock worth $13,935,574 in the last quarter. 26.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On C3.ai

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in C3.ai in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of C3.ai by 55.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,282,183 shares of the company's stock worth $27,636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,302 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its position in shares of C3.ai by 247.5% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 658,573 shares of the company's stock worth $5,545,000 after purchasing an additional 469,057 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in C3.ai by 39.0% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 168,943 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,422,000 after purchasing an additional 47,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in C3.ai by 418.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 177,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,495,000 after purchasing an additional 143,303 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.96% of the company's stock.

C3.ai Price Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $9.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.16. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.41 and a beta of 2.04.

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.

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.