C3.ai (NYSE:AI) Stock Jumps 5.5% – Here’s Why

Shares of C3.ai, Inc. (NYSE:AI) were up 5.5% during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $10.97 and last traded at $10.9120. 536,108 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 5,945,981 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AI shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of C3.ai in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. KeyCorp reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of C3.ai in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of C3.ai from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 13th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of C3.ai in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on C3.ai from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.70.

C3.ai Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $10.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.56. The company has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of -3.51 and a beta of 2.10.

C3.ai (NYSE:AI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. C3.ai had a negative return on equity of 61.25% and a negative net margin of 192.10%.The company had revenue of $52.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.37) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that C3.ai, Inc. will post -2.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at C3.ai

In other C3.ai news, CEO Thomas M. Siebel sold 453,314 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.51, for a total value of $4,764,330.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 722,362 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,024.62. This trade represents a 38.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Hitesh Lath sold 21,077 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.48, for a total transaction of $220,886.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 371,036 shares in the company, valued at $3,888,457.28. This represents a 5.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 1,117,809 shares of company stock valued at $11,724,230 over the last ninety days. 19.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AI. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in C3.ai by 55.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,282,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,636,000 after buying an additional 1,166,302 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in C3.ai by 67.3% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,215,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,233,000 after buying an additional 488,710 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in C3.ai by 247.5% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 658,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,545,000 after buying an additional 469,057 shares during the last quarter. EVR Research LP boosted its holdings in C3.ai by 223.8% in the fourth quarter. EVR Research LP now owns 600,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,093,000 after acquiring an additional 415,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of C3.ai during the first quarter worth about $2,686,000. 38.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About C3.ai

C3.ai, Inc develops enterprise artificial intelligence software and applications for organizations in a range of industries. Its technology is designed to help businesses use data, machine learning and predictive analytics to address operational, financial and strategic challenges.

The company’s offerings include the C3 AI Platform, which provides tools for developing, deploying and operating AI applications, as well as prebuilt applications for use cases such as predictive maintenance, fraud detection, supply-chain optimization, customer engagement, energy management and regulatory compliance.