Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Confluent has been upgraded from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating by Zacks Research, indicating a more favorable outlook for the stock.
• Analysts have set a target price range for Confluent, with estimates varying from $21.00 to $27.00, reflecting differing perspectives on the company's future performance.
• Insider trading activity has seen executives selling shares totaling over $12.9 million, raising concerns about future stock performance amidst declining ownership percentages.

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT - Free Report) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

CFLT has been the topic of several other reports. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of Confluent from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Confluent in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Confluent from $32.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Confluent in a research note on Friday, July 18th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $21.00 target price on shares of Confluent in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.36.

Confluent Stock Performance

NASDAQ CFLT traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $19.34. 7,858,970 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,821,518. The company has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.57 and a beta of 0.97. Confluent has a 12-month low of $15.64 and a 12-month high of $37.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $21.46 and a 200 day moving average of $23.17. The company has a quick ratio of 3.98, a current ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. Confluent had a negative net margin of 29.27% and a negative return on equity of 27.34%. 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 business posted $0.06 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Confluent has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.090-0.100 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 0.360-0.360 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Confluent will post -0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Edward Jay Kreps sold 232,500 shares of Confluent stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total transaction of $3,994,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 452,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,773,743.84. The trade was a 33.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rohan Sivaram sold 26,097 shares of Confluent stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.01, for a total transaction of $443,909.97. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 636,596 shares in the company, valued at $10,828,497.96. This trade represents a 3.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 352,785 shares of company stock worth $6,185,488. 9.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Confluent

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Confluent by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,620,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $623,976,000 after buying an additional 1,791,588 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Confluent in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,791,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Confluent by 47.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 528,171 shares of the company's stock worth $12,380,000 after acquiring an additional 169,576 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in shares of Confluent by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 16,995 shares of the company's stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Confluent by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 107,900 shares of the company's stock worth $3,017,000 after purchasing an additional 5,300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.09% of the company's stock.

About Confluent

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.