Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) Rating Lowered to Hold at Capital One Financial

Key Points

• Capital One Financial has downgraded Confluent's stock from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating amid changing analyst sentiments.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for Confluent, with the average consensus price target now at $27.86 after significant revisions from various firms.
• Despite a recent quarterly revenue increase of 20.1% year-over-year, Confluent reported a negative net margin of 29.27% and continues to face operational challenges.

Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Capital One Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Confluent from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Confluent from $37.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities decreased their target price on Confluent from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen downgraded Confluent from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Confluent from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.54.

Confluent Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of CFLT stock traded down $0.53 on Wednesday, reaching $17.20. 19,531,383 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,039,751. The company has a current ratio of 3.98, a quick ratio of 4.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $24.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a PE ratio of -18.30 and a beta of 0.96. Confluent has a 52 week low of $16.56 and a 52 week high of $37.90.

Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $282.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $278.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.06 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Confluent will post -0.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Confluent

In related news, Director Michelangelo Volpi sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $625,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 267,079 shares in the company, valued at $6,676,975. This trade represents a 8.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Neha Narkhede sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.82, for a total transaction of $456,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,247 shares in the company, valued at $462,036.54. This represents a 49.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 486,669 shares of company stock valued at $11,439,593 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Confluent

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Confluent by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,557 shares of the company's stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Confluent by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 66,726 shares of the company's stock worth $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 20,300 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Confluent by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 32,117 shares of the company's stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 2,421 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Confluent by 676.7% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 638,189 shares of the company's stock worth $17,844,000 after purchasing an additional 556,025 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Confluent by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,409,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,339,000 after acquiring an additional 84,163 shares in the last quarter. 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.