Short Interest in Confluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFLT) Expands By 5.6%

Confluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFLT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 19,670,000 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the September 15th total of 18,630,000 shares. Approximately 8.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,370,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Confluent Trading Up 0.8 %

Confluent stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $22.32. 2,636,313 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,364,793. Confluent has a fifty-two week low of $14.69 and a fifty-two week high of $35.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $20.68 and its 200-day moving average is $25.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 4.44 and a current ratio of 4.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.86 and a beta of 0.88.

Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.04). Confluent had a negative net margin of 42.70% and a negative return on equity of 37.78%. The business had revenue of $234.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.49 million. On average, analysts predict that Confluent will post -0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Confluent

In related news, CEO Edward Jay Kreps sold 232,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.13, for a total transaction of $4,912,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 452,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,561,071.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Edward Jay Kreps sold 232,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.13, for a total transaction of $4,912,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 452,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,561,071.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rohan Sivaram sold 22,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.68, for a total value of $497,035.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 555,337 shares in the company, valued at $12,039,706.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 524,453 shares of company stock valued at $10,833,388. Corporate insiders own 13.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CFLT. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new position in Confluent in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Confluent in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $68,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Confluent by 40.3% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Confluent by 25.5% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. 78.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CFLT shares. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective (down previously from $36.00) on shares of Confluent in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Confluent from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded Confluent to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Confluent from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Confluent from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Confluent presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.79.

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.