Fifteen brokerages covering C3.ai have issued a consensus recommendation of “Reduce,” based on data compiled by Marketbeat. Five analysts rate the stock as a sell, seven maintain a hold rating, two rate it a buy and one assigns a strong buy. The average one-year price target among these firms stands at $21.9167, reflecting tempered expectations compared with earlier forecasts.

Several research houses have recently updated their outlooks on C3.ai. Canaccord Genuity reaffirmed a hold rating with a $16.00 target, while Needham & Company also maintained a hold stance. UBS Group raised its target from $16.00 to $17.00 and kept a neutral rating. Wedbush continues to rate the company as outperform with a $20.00 objective. Weiss Ratings restated a sell (d-) rating in October, underscoring the wide range of views on near-term growth prospects.

CEO Stephen Bradley Ehikian sold 234,918 shares on December 31 at an average of $13.56 per share, generating proceeds of $3,185,488 and reducing his position by 20.27%. Earlier, Chairman Thomas M. Siebel sold 554,802 shares at $18.82 each, totaling $10,441,373 and trimming his stake by 22.10%. Over the past 90 days, insiders have sold 1,948,845 shares worth $30,849,644, leaving insiders with 26.50% ownership of the company.

Institutional investors and hedge funds account for 38.96% of C3.ai’s shares. Recent activity includes a new $25,000 stake by Silicon Valley Capital Partners in Q2. Larson Financial Group increased its holdings by 683.6% in Q3, reaching 1,481 shares valued at $26,000. Parallel Advisors boosted its position by 76.4% to 1,849 shares worth $32,000. Financial Consulate acquired a new position valued at $36,000, while Clearstead Advisors added 863 shares in Q3, bringing its total to 2,350 shares valued at $41,000.