Robert W. Baird Upgrades Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) to “Outperform”

Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) was upgraded by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $260.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target suggests a potential upside of 40.18% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on NET. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Cloudflare from $205.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Cloudflare from $199.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Cloudflare from $230.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Cloudflare from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Cloudflare in a report on Monday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.89.

Cloudflare Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of Cloudflare stock opened at $185.48 on Wednesday. Cloudflare has a fifty-two week low of $89.42 and a fifty-two week high of $260.00. The firm has a market cap of $64.97 billion, a PE ratio of -639.56, a P/E/G ratio of 164.18 and a beta of 1.97. The business’s fifty day moving average is $190.36 and its two-hundred 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.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John Graham-Cumming sold 2,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total value of $436,842.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 495,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,841,359.85. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Carl Ledbetter sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director directly owned 953,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,250,894.68. This trade represents a 1.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 633,347 shares of company stock valued at $124,873,834. 10.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cloudflare

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Cloudflare by 34.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,696 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cloudflare during the second quarter valued at approximately $424,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Cloudflare by 32.7% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cloudflare by 25.9% in the second quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cloudflare in the second quarter valued at $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.68% of the company’s stock.

Key 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.