Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) Reaches New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

Key Points

• Confluent's stock price reached a new 52-week low of $15.64 during mid-day trading, with the latest price being $16.56.
• Several research firms have downgraded Confluent's price target, with Citigroup reducing it from $30.00 to $20.00 and maintaining a "neutral" rating.
• Insider selling has been significant, with both the CEO and a director reducing their holdings, resulting in a total of 486,669 shares sold in the last 90 days.

Confluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFLT - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $15.64 and last traded at $16.56, with a volume of 12823816 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CFLT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $21.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Confluent in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Confluent from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stephens began coverage on shares of Confluent in a research report on Friday, July 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of Confluent from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Confluent from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.36.

Confluent Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $23.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of -18.93 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 3.98, a quick ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. Confluent had a negative return on equity of 27.34% and a negative net margin of 29.27%. The business had revenue of $282.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $278.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Confluent, Inc. will post -0.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Confluent

In related news, CEO Edward Jay Kreps sold 232,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.50, for a total value of $5,696,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 452,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,085,956. This represents a 33.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michelangelo Volpi sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $625,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 267,079 shares in the company, valued at $6,676,975. The trade was a 8.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 463,169 shares of company stock valued at $10,906,848 in the last ninety days. 9.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CFLT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Confluent in the second quarter valued at about $89,736,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Confluent during the fourth quarter worth approximately $64,658,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Confluent during the first quarter worth approximately $48,547,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Confluent by 7.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,620,150 shares of the company's stock worth $623,976,000 after buying an additional 1,791,588 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in shares of Confluent by 220.2% during the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,597,346 shares of the company's stock worth $60,882,000 after buying an additional 1,786,116 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.09% of the company's stock.

Confluent Company Profile

Confluent, Inc operates a data streaming platform in the United States and internationally. The company provides platforms that allow customers to connect their applications, systems, and data layers, such as Confluent Cloud, a managed cloud-native software-as-a-service; and Confluent Platform, an enterprise-grade self-managed software.