QRG Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Cloudflare, Inc. $NET

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its Cloudflare stake by 26.9% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 89,277 shares worth approximately $21.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.68% of Cloudflare.
• Cloudflare reported strong quarterly growth, with revenue rising 35.9% year over year to $696.1 million and adjusted EPS of $0.29, exceeding analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $321.85.
• Despite bullish sentiment and strong growth, valuation and insider selling remain risks: the stock trades near its 52-week high at elevated multiples, while insiders sold 557,674 shares worth about $155.7 million over the past three months.

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET - Free Report) by 26.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 89,277 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,914 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Cloudflare were worth $21,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cloudflare by 65.3% in the second quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 119 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in Cloudflare during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. CX Institutional increased its stake in Cloudflare by 49.4% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 133 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Cloudflare in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Cloudflare in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NET. Mizuho lifted their target price on Cloudflare from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Cloudflare in a report on Monday, August 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Cloudflare from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Cloudflare from $250.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Cloudflare from $280.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cloudflare currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $321.85.

More Cloudflare News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cloudflare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cybersecurity stocks rallied after warnings about unpredictable AI behavior increased demand expectations for AI security tools. Cloudflare is positioned as an edge-security and internet-infrastructure provider, giving it potential exposure to this broader investment theme. 7 Cybersecurity Stocks Riding the AI Security Boom
• Positive Sentiment: Options traders purchased a large volume of Cloudflare call options, signaling increased speculative interest in further upside. Options activity can support near-term momentum, although it does not change the company’s fundamentals. Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Cloudflare
• Positive Sentiment: Cloudflare’s latest quarterly results provide a fundamental backdrop for bullish sentiment: revenue grew 35.9% year over year to $696.1 million and adjusted earnings exceeded consensus estimates. Management’s fiscal 2026 guidance also points to continued growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: One recent comparison article highlights investor interest in Cloudflare, while another examines the potential impact if its growth rate cools. These reports reinforce that the stock’s outlook depends heavily on sustaining strong expansion. What Happens to Cloudflare Stock If Its Growth Cools?
• Negative Sentiment: Director Carl Ledbetter sold 5,000 shares for approximately $1.8 million, reducing his direct position by 0.57%. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which makes it less concerning than discretionary selling, but it adds to recent insider-selling activity. CFO Thomas Seifert previously sold 10,000 shares for about $3.3 million under a similar plan.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a major vulnerability. Cloudflare trades near its 52-week high at a very high growth multiple, leaving limited room for execution disappointments, slower revenue growth or weaker software-sector sentiment.

Cloudflare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NET opened at $353.21 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $124.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -608.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 280.75 and a beta of 1.66. Cloudflare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.83 and a twelve month high of $364.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $296.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $248.51.

Cloudflare (NYSE:NET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. Cloudflare had a negative net margin of 8.21% and a negative return on equity of 3.88%. The firm had revenue of $696.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $664.66 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.21 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. Cloudflare has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.340 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.260 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cloudflare, Inc. will post 0.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Thomas Seifert sold 55,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.30, for a total transaction of $16,516,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 113,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,171,137. This represents a 32.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michelle Zatlyn sold 33,003 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.63, for a total transaction of $9,723,673.89. Following the sale, the insider owned 69,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,557,808.25. This trade represents a 32.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 557,674 shares of company stock valued at $155,738,054. Company insiders own 10.66% of the company's stock.

Cloudflare Profile

Cloudflare, Inc is a technology company that provides cloud-based connectivity, security and performance services for websites, applications, networks and other internet-connected resources. Its platform is designed to help organizations deliver digital content more quickly, protect against cyber threats and manage internet traffic across a global network.

The company's offerings include content delivery and domain name system services, distributed denial-of-service protection, web application and application programming interface security, bot management, and network security tools.

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