Confluent Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:CFLT)

Key Points

• Confluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFLT) experienced a significant spike in options trading, with 50,309 call options bought, marking a 414% increase compared to its typical volume.
• The stock price fell by 1.0%, trading at $17.67, while the company also reported earnings of $0.09 per share, exceeding expectations.
• Insider sales included CEO Edward Jay Kreps selling 232,500 shares, representing a 33.94% decrease in his ownership stake.

Confluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFLT - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Investors bought 50,309 call options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseof414% compared to the average volume of 9,781 call options.

Confluent Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:CFLT traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $17.67. 5,242,440 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,526,912. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 3.98 and a quick ratio of 3.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.70. The company has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of -18.77 and a beta of 0.96. Confluent has a 12 month low of $15.64 and a 12 month high of $37.90.

Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.09 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $278.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.06 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Confluent will post -0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Confluent

In related news, CEO Edward Jay Kreps sold 232,500 shares of Confluent stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $11,085,956. This trade represents a 33.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Neha Narkhede sold 20,000 shares of Confluent 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,247 shares in the company, valued at $462,036.54. This trade represents a 49.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 463,169 shares of company stock valued at $10,906,848. 9.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Confluent

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Confluent in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Credit Industriel ET Commercial purchased a new position in Confluent in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Confluent by 252.3% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,448 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Confluent by 2,458.2% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,714 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Confluent in the first quarter valued at about $43,000. 78.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Capital One Financial set a $21.00 target price on shares of Confluent in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of Confluent from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JMP Securities decreased their target price on shares of Confluent from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities cut their price target on shares of Confluent from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Confluent from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.36.

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.

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