Cloudflare (NET) Stock Pops 7% While CEO Quietly Cashes Out $30 Million

TLDR

• Cloudflare stock rose 6.60% on March 18, 2026
• The gain was driven by an expanded partnership with SentinelOne integrating AI-driven security into a shared platform
• Cloudflare also released its 2026 Threat Intelligence Report, highlighting its role against nation-state cyberattacks
• CEO Matthew Prince sold $30.5 million in stock between March 16–18 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan
• Analysts at Baird and TD Cowen have price targets of $260 and $265 respectively following strong Q4 2025 results

Cloudflare (NET) stock climbed 6.60% on March 18, 2026, closing at $225.48. The move pushed its market cap to around $74–79 billion.

Cloudflare, Inc., NET

The rally came on the back of two notable catalysts. First, Cloudflare deepened its partnership with SentinelOne, integrating Cloudflare Logpush telemetry into SentinelOne’s AI SIEM platform. The deal is aimed at improving automated threat detection and response for customers using both platforms.

Second, Cloudflare published its 2026 Threat Intelligence Report. The report positioned the company as a key player in defending against nation-state cyberattacks, which have grown more sophisticated over the past year.

The stock has now gained roughly 96% over the past 12 months. Year-to-date, it’s up 7.29%.

The broader market was also rotating into fast-growing software names, and Cloudflare picked up some of that momentum. AI-related infrastructure spending has become a recurring theme in analyst notes covering the stock.

CEO Sells $30.5 Million in Stock

While investors were buying, CEO Matthew Prince was selling. Between March 16 and March 18, Prince offloaded $30.5 million worth of Class A Common Stock. Prices ranged from $207.91 to $226.03 per share.

The sales were made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. These plans are set up in advance and are designed to remove any suggestion of trading on inside information.

Prince also converted a combined 134,241 Class B shares to Class A Common Stock across the three days.

Despite the insider sales, analyst sentiment remains constructive. Baird upgraded the stock from Neutral to Outperform after Cloudflare’s Q4 2025 results, raising its price target to $260. TD Cowen kept its Buy rating with a $265 target, pointing to strong quarterly results and AI growth drivers.

Q4 2025 Results Still in Focus

Cloudflare’s fourth quarter of 2025 showed 34% year-over-year revenue growth. Remaining performance obligations grew 48%, and annual contract value rose roughly 50%.

Cantor Fitzgerald held a Neutral rating with a $224 price target. The firm acknowledged the strong growth but flagged valuation as a concern. InvestingPro also listed the stock on its Most Overvalued list relative to its Fair Value estimate.

On the product side, Cloudflare recently integrated post-quantum encryption into its Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) platform, a move that broadens its enterprise security offering.

Average daily trading volume sits around 4.38 million shares. Technical sentiment indicators currently show a Strong Buy signal.

The stock was trading at $225.48 as of March 18, 2026, with analyst price targets ranging from $224 to $265.

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