Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Confluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFLT) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $32.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Confluent traded as high as $35.72 and last traded at $35.48, with a volume of 5915059 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.10.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Confluent from $38.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Confluent from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Confluent from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Confluent in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Confluent from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Confluent

In related news, CTO Chad Verbowski sold 13,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.23, for a total value of $378,677.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 483,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,646,184.39. This trade represents a 2.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Stephanie Buscemi sold 5,271 shares of Confluent stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.23, for a total transaction of $148,800.33. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 144,373 shares in the company, valued at $4,075,649.79. The trade was a 3.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,508,636 shares of company stock valued at $47,198,798 in the last 90 days. 13.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Confluent

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Confluent by 354.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,607 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Confluent in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Confluent during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $68,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Confluent by 85.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Confluent by 22,112.5% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 3,538 shares during the last quarter. 78.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Confluent Stock Up 25.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $12.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.92 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $29.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 4.24 and a quick ratio of 4.24.

Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.28). Confluent had a negative net margin of 38.35% and a negative return on equity of 34.05%. Research analysts predict that Confluent, Inc. will post -0.9 EPS for the current year.

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.