Confluent Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:CFLT)

Confluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFLT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 7,702 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 66% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,628 call options.

Confluent Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CFLT traded down $0.51 on Wednesday, reaching $28.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,335,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,450,257. The company has a current ratio of 5.07, a quick ratio of 5.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a PE ratio of -23.27 and a beta of 0.91. Confluent has a 52-week low of $14.69 and a 52-week high of $41.22. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.17.

Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.28) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $217.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.57 million. Confluent had a negative return on equity of 40.55% and a negative net margin of 46.73%. As a group, analysts expect that Confluent will post -0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFLT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Confluent from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $28.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Confluent from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Confluent in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Confluent in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Confluent in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Confluent has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Ying Christina Liu sold 7,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.96, for a total value of $232,061.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 161,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,148,020.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CTO Chad Verbowski sold 13,413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.96, for a total value of $428,679.48. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 518,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,576,341.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ying Christina Liu sold 7,261 shares of Confluent stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.96, for a total value of $232,061.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 161,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,148,020.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 632,725 shares of company stock valued at $18,138,428. Company insiders own 13.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Confluent

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in Confluent in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Confluent during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Confluent in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Confluent in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in Confluent by 125.0% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.09% of the company’s stock.

Confluent Company Profile

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.