Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Confluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFLT)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $23.07, but opened at $27.61. Confluent shares last traded at $28.00, with a volume of 3,075,631 shares traded.

The company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.03. Confluent had a negative return on equity of 37.78% and a negative net margin of 42.70%. The business had revenue of $250.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.98 million.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Confluent from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Confluent from $31.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Confluent from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Confluent from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Confluent from $38.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Confluent has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.97.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edward Jay Kreps sold 232,500 shares of Confluent stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.99, for a total value of $4,647,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 452,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,045,235.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Confluent news, Director Lara Caimi sold 9,375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total transaction of $187,593.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,160 shares in the company, valued at $143,271.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Edward Jay Kreps sold 232,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.99, for a total value of $4,647,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 452,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,045,235.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 524,453 shares of company stock worth $10,833,388. Corporate insiders own 13.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Confluent during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Confluent in the second quarter valued at approximately $68,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Confluent by 125.0% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Confluent by 40.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Confluent by 25.5% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.09% of the company’s stock.

Confluent Stock Up 22.9 %

The company has a market cap of $9.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.79 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 4.44, a current ratio of 4.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.84 and its 200 day moving average is $24.67.

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.