DA Davidson Reiterates Underperform Rating for C3.ai (NYSE:AI)

Key Points

• DA Davidson reiterated an “underperform” rating on C3.ai and kept a $7 price target, implying about 34.8% downside from the current share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious overall: the stock now has a consensus “Reduce” rating, with multiple firms recently reaffirming bearish or neutral views and a consensus price target of $12.92.
• C3.ai beat EPS estimates but revenue remains weak, reporting a smaller-than-expected loss of $0.33 per share on revenue that matched estimates, while quarterly revenue still fell 52.5% year over year.

C3.ai (NYSE:AI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underperform" rating reiterated by investment analysts at DA Davidson in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $7.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson's price objective would indicate a potential downside of 34.80% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings raised C3.ai from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Monday. Citizens Jmp restated a "market perform" rating on shares of C3.ai in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of C3.ai in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of C3.ai in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of C3.ai in a report on Thursday. One investment 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, C3.ai presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $12.92.

C3.ai Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE AI traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $10.74. 4,799,367 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,257,650. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.41 and a beta of 2.04. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $9.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.16. C3.ai has a twelve month low of $7.68 and a twelve month high of $30.11.

C3.ai (NYSE:AI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 3rd. The company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.38) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $51.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.60 million. C3.ai had a negative net margin of 141.35% and a negative return on equity of 55.40%. C3.ai's quarterly revenue was down 52.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.16) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that C3.ai will post -3.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at C3.ai

In related news, Director Jim H. Snabe purchased 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.00 per share, with a total value of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 395,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,555,000. This trade represents a 6.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen Bradley Ehikian sold 52,194 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.22, for a total transaction of $429,034.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 721,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,930,606.70. This represents a 6.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 1,610,039 shares of company stock valued at $13,935,574 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 26.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On C3.ai

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AI. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in C3.ai by 2,831.4% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 554,472 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,615,000 after purchasing an additional 535,557 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of C3.ai by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,469,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $195,055,000 after purchasing an additional 108,011 shares in the last quarter. Clare Market Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of C3.ai in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,207,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of C3.ai by 115.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 384,486 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,183,000 after purchasing an additional 205,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of C3.ai during the 3rd quarter worth $2,010,000. 38.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting C3.ai

Here are the key news stories impacting C3.ai this week:

• Positive Sentiment: C3.ai beat earnings expectations, posting a smaller-than-expected loss of $0.33 per share versus the $0.38 loss analysts expected, which helped lift sentiment. C3.ai Inc (AI) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Navigating Challenges and Strategic Restructuring
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue of $51.6 million matched expectations, and management’s Q1 fiscal 2027 guidance of $50 million to $54 million and full-year FY2027 guidance of $210 million to $240 million were roughly in line with or slightly above consensus. C3 AI Announces Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Full Fiscal Year 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Investors also appeared encouraged by turnaround efforts, including restructuring, cost-cutting plans, and founder Tom Siebel’s return as CEO alongside a reported $69 million cash injection. AI Stock Jumps 3% After-Hours — Founder Siebel Returns As CEO With $69M Cash Injection
• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens JMP reaffirmed its “market perform” rating, while Needham reiterated a “hold,” suggesting analysts remain cautious despite the earnings pop. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, CEO Thomas Siebel sold 17,350 shares, but the filing said the sale was for tax withholding tied to equity vesting, which limits the bearish read-through. Thomas Siebel Sells 17,350 Shares of C3.ai NYSE: AI Stock
• Negative Sentiment: The main concern remains the operating trend: quarterly revenue fell 52.5% year over year, showing that C3.ai is still struggling to stabilize growth. AI Q1 Deep Dive: Major Turnaround Plan and Restructuring After Revenue Decline

C3.ai Company Profile

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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