Canaccord Genuity Group Upgrades Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) to “Buy”

Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) was upgraded by investment analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $35.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 12.79% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Confluent from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Confluent from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Confluent in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Confluent from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Confluent from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Confluent currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.88.

Confluent Price Performance

Shares of CFLT stock opened at $31.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 4.62 and a quick ratio of 4.62. The company has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a PE ratio of -21.11 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $30.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.28. Confluent has a 12 month low of $14.69 and a 12 month high of $41.22.

Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.01). Confluent had a negative return on equity of 44.16% and a negative net margin of 56.99%. The firm had revenue of $213.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.62 million. Analysts predict that Confluent will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Confluent

In other news, CMO Stephanie Buscemi sold 2,724 shares of Confluent stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.15, for a total transaction of $87,576.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 109,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,504,414.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Stephanie Buscemi sold 2,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.15, for a total transaction of $87,576.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 109,002 shares in the company, valued at $3,504,414.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Chad Verbowski sold 8,086 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.20, for a total transaction of $252,283.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 532,072 shares in the company, valued at $16,600,646.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 732,173 shares of company stock valued at $24,194,120. Insiders own 13.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Confluent

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Confluent in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Confluent during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Confluent during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Confluent in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Confluent in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.09% of the company’s stock.

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.