Needham & Company LLC Has Lowered Expectations for Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) Stock Price

Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) had its target price reduced by Needham & Company LLC from $285.00 to $250.00 in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target points to a potential upside of 34.79% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Cloudflare in a report on Monday, November 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Cloudflare from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Citizens Jmp raised their price target on Cloudflare from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Cloudflare from $318.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price objective on Cloudflare from $199.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.89.

Cloudflare Price Performance

NYSE NET opened at $185.48 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $190.36 and its 200-day moving average is $204.79. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The company has a market capitalization of $64.97 billion, a PE ratio of -639.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 164.18 and a beta of 1.97. Cloudflare has a 12-month low of $89.42 and a 12-month high of $260.00.

Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. Cloudflare had a negative net margin of 4.72% and a negative return on equity of 7.40%. The business had revenue of $614.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $591.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cloudflare will post -0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Thomas J. Seifert sold 10,000 shares of Cloudflare stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.37, for a total transaction of $1,783,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 137,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,523,377.82. The trade was a 6.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John Graham-Cumming sold 2,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total value of $436,842.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 495,191 shares in the company, valued at $85,841,359.85. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 633,347 shares of company stock valued at $124,873,834. Insiders own 10.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cloudflare

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Cloudflare during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Cloudflare by 693.3% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 119 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cloudflare during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cloudflare by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 130 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cloudflare in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 82.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Cloudflare News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cloudflare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and bullish guidance: Cloudflare reported revenue of $614.5M (+33.6% YoY) and EPS of $0.28, topping estimates, and issued a 2026 revenue target (~$2.795B) that signals sustained AI-driven demand and record contract activity. CNBC: Q4 results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/target increases: Multiple firms raised targets or upgraded NET (e.g., Robert W. Baird upgrade to outperform with a $260 PT; Wells Fargo and Barclays raised targets), supporting further upside expectations. Zacks: Analyst optimism
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity: Elevated call buying (≈13,474 calls traded, ~11% above average) suggests some traders are placing bullish bets on further upside. No link
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/sector checks: Several pieces examine whether the stock’s elevated valuation is justified after the AI-fueled beat — useful reading for investors weighing entry points. Yahoo: Valuation check
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a neutral rating ($224 PT), highlighting mixed analyst sentiment despite the strong quarter. StreetInsider: Cantor Fitzgerald
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale disclosed: Director John Graham‑Cumming sold 2,520 shares (small relative to his stake), which can trigger short-term caution among some investors. SEC: Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional trimming: Alfreton Capital reported a ~55% reduction in its stake, signaling some profit-taking by funds after the run-up. DefenseWorld: Alfreton selling
• Negative Sentiment: Some target trims: A few analysts trimmed price targets (e.g., Scotiabank to $225, Needham trimmed PT) — mixed signals that add short‑term volatility risk. TickerReport: PT cuts

Cloudflare Company Profile

Cloudflare, Inc is a global web infrastructure and security company that provides a suite of services designed to improve the performance, reliability and security of internet properties. Its core offerings include a content delivery network (CDN), distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) protection, managed DNS, and a web application firewall (WAF). Cloudflare also provides tools for bot management, SSL/TLS, load balancing and rate limiting to help organizations maintain uptime and protect web applications from attack.

In addition to traditional edge and security services, Cloudflare has expanded into edge computing and developer platforms.