C3.ai Experiences Positive Stock Movement with Pre-Trading Gap Up

Before the opening bell on Tuesday, shares of C3.ai, Inc. (NYSE:AI) demonstrated a positive stock movement with a gap up in price. Having settled at $28.04 the day before, the shares kicked off at $28.89. The trading session concluded with C3.ai's shares at $28.27, after an exchange of 6,134,363 shares.

Analyst Insights on C3.ai

There have been a variety of recent analyst reports concerning AI. Noteworthy is Piper Sandler's reduction of C3.ai's price target from $29.00 to $28.00, maintaining a 'neutral' rating, indicated in a report on September 8th. Conversely, StockNews.com upgraded C3.ai to a 'sell' rating reported on November 7th. Similarly, Piper Sandler Companies revised their price objective from $29.00 to $28.00, upholding a 'neutral' stance. On a positive note, JMP Securities raised the target price from $38.00 to $40.00, giving an 'outperform' rating on July 24th. Wedbush also adjusted their target price from $50.00 down to $42.00 but sustained an 'outperform' rating on September 7th. Collectively, three analysts have rated the stock as 'sell', four as 'hold', and three recommend a 'buy'. MarketBeat's compiled data suggests an average 'Hold' recommendation and a consensus target price of $28.73.

Company's Financial Highlights

C3.ai is currently navigating with a fifty-day moving average at $26.08 and a two-hundred-day average at $31.34. It boasts a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of -11.98, and a beta of 1.54.

The most recent quarterly earnings report from C3.ai was released on September 6th, revealing an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.09, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.08. This represents a reduction in the net margin to 99.42% and a negative return on equity standing at 27.78%. The revenue reported was $72.36 million, slightly above the expected $71.56 million. Compared to the same quarter last year, the revenue has shown a 10.8% increase. Equity analysts have estimated that C3.ai, Inc. will likely post an EPS of -2.24 for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investment Perspectives

In recent times, several hedge funds have adjusted their holdings in AI. Notably, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. initiated a new investment in C3.ai worth approximately $332,000 during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. elevated its stake by 27.2%, holding 923,057 shares valued around $30,987,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC saw a 34.4% increase in its shares during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC and Main Street Financial Solutions LLC are among the new investors in C3.ai. Currently, institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.96% of the company's stock.

Understanding C3.ai's Business Model

C3.ai operates internationally, providing enterprise AI software across various regions such as North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company's C3 AI platform supports clients in designing and deploying enterprise AI applications. Additionally, they offer C3 AI Ex Machina for an analysis-ready data solution, the industry-specialized C3 AI CRM, and the C3 Generative AI Product Suite which assists in information location, retrieval, and presentation.

C3.ai, Stock, Trading