Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Cloudflare in a research report on Monday, November 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Cloudflare in a report on Wednesday. JMP Securities set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Cloudflare in a report on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $260.00 target price on Cloudflare and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cloudflare in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $232.11.

Cloudflare Stock Up 5.8%

Shares of Cloudflare stock opened at $196.00 on Thursday. Cloudflare has a twelve month low of $89.42 and a twelve month high of $260.00. The stock has a market cap of $68.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -675.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 347.60 and a beta of 1.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $190.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.80.

Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. Cloudflare had a negative return on equity of 7.40% and a negative net margin of 4.72%.The company had revenue of $614.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $591.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Cloudflare will post -0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michelle Zatlyn sold 35,099 shares of Cloudflare stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.26, for a total value of $6,993,826.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 24,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,892,829.30. This trade represents a 58.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Matthew Prince sold 52,384 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.32, for a total value of $10,231,642.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 22,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,331,221. This trade represents a 70.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 633,347 shares of company stock worth $124,873,834. Corporate insiders own 10.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cloudflare

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HM Payson & Co. bought a new position in shares of Cloudflare in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Cloudflare by 693.3% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 119 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Cloudflare in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Cloudflare by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cloudflare during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.68% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Cloudflare

Here are the key news stories impacting Cloudflare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — Cloudflare reported revenue of ~$614.5M (+33.6% YoY) and EPS of $0.28, with management highlighting record deal activity, rising RPO/cRPO and improving free cash flow. MSN: Q4 growth
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue guidance topped estimates — management raised FY‑2026 revenue outlook (management cited a figure near $2.795B), signaling confidence in sustained demand and driving the rally. Investing.com: Guidance beats
• Positive Sentiment: AI tailwind — multiple reports and management commentary point to rising “agentic” traffic (e.g., Moltbot) that boosts security, networking and edge services, creating a durable demand cycle. Yahoo: AI deals
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher targets — several firms upgraded or raised targets (examples include Robert W. Baird to outperform/$260 and DZ Bank to buy/$215), adding conviction to the upside thesis. Finviz: Analyst moves
• Positive Sentiment: Elevated options activity — unusually large call buying (13,474 contracts) suggests short‑term bullish/speculative positioning around the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst notes — some firms reaffirm neutral/hold stances (Cantor Fitzgerald) or trimmed PTs modestly while keeping buy ratings, reflecting differing views on valuation vs. growth. Zacks: Analyst roundup
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation questions persist — coverage pieces and valuation checks note Cloudflare’s rich multiples given ongoing margin/headwind dynamics, so upside depends on continued revenue leverage. Yahoo: Valuation check
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale disclosed — director John Graham‑Cumming sold 2,520 shares; small relative to his holdings but noted by the market. SEC: Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional profit‑taking — at least one fund materially trimmed its stake in recent filings, evidence of some near‑term selling pressure amid the rally. DefenseWorld: Institutional trimming
• Negative Sentiment: Some target cuts — a few analysts reduced price targets (e.g., Scotiabank), underscoring uneven short‑term sentiment despite the beat. TickerReport: PT cuts

About Cloudflare

Cloudflare, Inc is a global web infrastructure and security company that provides a suite of services designed to improve the performance, reliability and security of internet properties. Its core offerings include a content delivery network (CDN), distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) protection, managed DNS, and a web application firewall (WAF). Cloudflare also provides tools for bot management, SSL/TLS, load balancing and rate limiting to help organizations maintain uptime and protect web applications from attack.

In addition to traditional edge and security services, Cloudflare has expanded into edge computing and developer platforms.