C3.ai (NYSE:AI) Shares Down 7.4% - What's Next?

Key Points

• C3.ai shares fell 7.4% on Thursday, trading as low as $8.60 with volume well below average, reflecting weak short-term momentum.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $12.92, even though some firms recently raised targets or reiterated bullish views.
• The company’s latest earnings showed mixed results—EPS beat estimates, but revenue was flat year over year and quarterly revenue still declined 52.5%, while insiders, including former and current CEO Thomas Siebel, sold significant shares recently.

C3.ai, Inc. (NYSE:AI - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 7.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $8.60 and last traded at $8.6330. Approximately 1,104,829 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 6,423,717 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of C3.ai in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of C3.ai in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on C3.ai from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of C3.ai in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on C3.ai from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, C3.ai presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $12.92.

C3.ai Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.67 and a beta of 2.04. The business's fifty day moving average price is $9.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.78.

C3.ai (NYSE:AI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 3rd. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.38) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $51.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.60 million. C3.ai had a negative return on equity of 60.20% and a negative net margin of 187.95%.C3.ai's quarterly revenue was down 52.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.16) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that C3.ai, Inc. will post -2.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at C3.ai

In related news, CEO Stephen Bradley Ehikian sold 52,194 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.22, for a total value of $429,034.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 721,485 shares in the company, valued at $5,930,606.70. This represents a 6.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas M. Siebel sold 472,005 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.11, for a total transaction of $5,243,975.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 722,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,025,441.82. This represents a 39.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 1,599,644 shares of company stock worth $15,059,516 over the last ninety days. 26.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On C3.ai

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AI. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA grew its holdings in C3.ai by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 4,709 shares of the company's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in C3.ai by 66.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,141 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in C3.ai by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares during the period. 38.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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