Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on C3.ai (NYSE:AI)

C3.ai, Inc. (NYSE:AI) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders bought 196,362 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 380% compared to the typical daily volume of 40,951 call options.

C3.ai Stock Down 0.9%

C3.ai stock opened at $11.01 on Friday. C3.ai has a 52-week low of $7.68 and a 52-week high of $20.22. The firm has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of -3.58 and a beta of 2.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $10.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.60.

C3.ai (NYSE:AI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $52.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.06 million. C3.ai had a negative net margin of 192.10% and a negative return on equity of 61.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.37) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that C3.ai will post -2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of C3.ai in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of C3.ai in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. UBS Group restated an “underperform” rating on shares of C3.ai in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings raised C3.ai from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of C3.ai in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas M. Siebel sold 453,314 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 722,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,024.62. This represents a 38.56% decrease in their position. The sale 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.48, for a total transaction of $220,886.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 371,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,888,457.28. This trade represents a 5.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,117,809 shares of company stock worth $11,724,230. Corporate insiders own 19.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On C3.ai

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AI. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of C3.ai by 55.1% during the first 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 period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 488,710 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in C3.ai by 0.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 690,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,816,000 after acquiring an additional 5,631 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted 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 worth $5,545,000 after acquiring an additional 469,057 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EVR Research LP grew its holdings in C3.ai by 223.8% during the 4th 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.96% of the company’s stock.

About C3.ai

C3.ai, Inc is an enterprise artificial intelligence software company that develops applications and tools designed to help organizations use AI and machine learning to analyze data, automate processes and support business decision-making. The company’s offerings are intended for large commercial enterprises, government agencies and other organizations managing complex operational and data environments.

Its product portfolio includes the C3 AI Platform, which provides capabilities for developing, deploying and operating AI applications, as well as prebuilt enterprise applications.