Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Cloudflare Call Options (NYSE:NET)

Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 13,474 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 11% compared to the typical volume of 12,168 call options.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cloudflare news, insider Douglas James Kramer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.19, for a total transaction of $528,570.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 101,101 shares in the company, valued at $17,812,985.19. This represents a 2.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Carl Ledbetter sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.16, for a total transaction of $3,167,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 953,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,250,894.68. The trade was a 1.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 633,347 shares of company stock valued at $124,873,834. 10.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cloudflare

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cloudflare in the fourth quarter worth approximately $718,316,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Cloudflare by 802.6% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,863,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,411,000 after buying an additional 1,657,144 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of Cloudflare in the second quarter valued at $225,204,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cloudflare by 2.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,317,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,934,958,000 after buying an additional 821,684 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Cloudflare by 1,388.7% during the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 736,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,161,000 after buying an additional 686,702 shares in the last quarter. 82.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on NET shares. Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Cloudflare in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Cloudflare from $280.00 to $255.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cloudflare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Susquehanna set a $190.00 price target on shares of Cloudflare in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Cloudflare from $220.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $232.89.

Cloudflare Stock Down 2.1%

NET stock opened at $185.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $190.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.79. Cloudflare has a fifty-two week low of $89.42 and a fifty-two week high of $260.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) last posted 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 firm 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 firm earned $0.19 EPS. Cloudflare’s quarterly revenue was up 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cloudflare will post -0.11 EPS for the current year.

About Cloudflare

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.