Confluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFLT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Confluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFLT) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 21,560,000 shares, a growth of 12.6% from the May 31st total of 19,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.1 days. Approximately 9.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Confluent Stock Performance

CFLT stock traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,336,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,450,258. The stock has a market cap of $9.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.86 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 5.07, a current ratio of 5.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $28.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.17. Confluent has a 1 year low of $14.69 and a 1 year high of $41.22.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Confluent from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Confluent in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Confluent from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Confluent from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on Confluent in a report on Friday, May 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Confluent currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.93.

Insider Activity at Confluent

In other Confluent news, CEO Edward Jay Kreps sold 232,500 shares of Confluent stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.17, for a total transaction of $6,084,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 452,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,841,610.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Confluent news, CEO Edward Jay Kreps sold 232,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.17, for a total transaction of $6,084,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 452,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,841,610.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Erica Schultz sold 63,729 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,599.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 706,715 shares in the company, valued at $21,908,165. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 632,725 shares of company stock worth $18,138,428 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CFLT. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its holdings in Confluent by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 19,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Confluent by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 11,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Confluent by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 11,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Confluent by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 82,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,921,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Confluent by 8.7% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 10,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. 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.