Freshworks Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:FRSH)

Freshworks Inc. (NASDAQ:FRSH) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 4,648 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 95% compared to the average volume of 2,384 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freshworks news, insider Mika Yamamoto sold 15,012 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.00, for a total transaction of $195,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 490,350 shares in the company, valued at $6,374,550. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Philippa Lawrence sold 5,846 shares of Freshworks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.06, for a total value of $70,502.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 392,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,736,094.66. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 22,267 shares of company stock worth $282,301 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshworks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in Freshworks during the second quarter worth about $25,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Freshworks by 954.9% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,948 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Freshworks in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in Freshworks by 560.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Freshworks by 136.2% during the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 2,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.58% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Freshworks

Here are the key news stories impacting Freshworks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and growth targets — Freshworks reported $0.14 EPS (vs. $0.11 est.) and $222.7M revenue, +14.5% YoY, and provided FY26/Q1 EPS guidance and a plan to reach $1.3B ARR by 2028 driven by EX platform and AI initiatives. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term growth narrative — management reiterated ARR and AI/employee‑experience (EX) strategy that could support durable revenue expansion if execution continues. ARR target and AI strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains from some firms — Needham reaffirmed a buy with a $15 PT, signalling continued conviction among parts of the sell‑side despite recent cuts. Needham rating reaffirmed
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options flow — a near‑doubling in call volume (4,648 calls) suggests traders are placing bullish/leveraged bets, which can precede volatility or a directional reversal if fundamentals hold.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reporting anomaly — recent feeds show short interest at “0” with NaN changes, likely a data issue rather than a true indicator of short selling pressure.
• Neutral Sentiment: Elevated trading volume and volatility — intraday volume has been well above average, reflecting heavy positioning after the print and contributing to larger price moves.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple price‑target cuts — Citigroup/JMP, Wells Fargo and Cantor lowered targets (examples: JMP $27→$16, Wells Fargo $13→$10, Cantor $15→$12), which compresses near‑term sentiment even if ratings remain mixed. Analyst price target cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Negative headlines and analyst re‑ratings — coverage describing the stock as “nosediving” and discussion of a shifting investment thesis has likely amplified selling pressure despite the quarter’s beat. Why Freshworks stock is nosediving

Freshworks Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of FRSH stock opened at $7.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 0.89. Freshworks has a 12 month low of $6.79 and a 12 month high of $18.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $11.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.99.

Freshworks (NASDAQ:FRSH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.03. Freshworks had a net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 4.77%. The company had revenue of $222.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Freshworks has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.100-0.120 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 0.550-0.570 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Freshworks will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRSH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Freshworks from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Freshworks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. UBS Group set a $11.00 target price on Freshworks in a report on Wednesday. BTIG Research started coverage on Freshworks in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Freshworks in a report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.92.

About Freshworks

Freshworks, Inc is a global provider of cloud-based customer engagement software designed to help businesses streamline customer support, sales, marketing, and IT service operations. The company’s integrated suite of solutions enables organizations of all sizes to deliver seamless experiences across multiple channels, including email, chat, phone, and social media. Freshworks’ platform is built on modern, user-friendly interfaces and offers native automation, AI-powered insights, and analytics to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction.

The company’s flagship product, Freshdesk, serves as a helpdesk solution for customer support teams, while Freshservice addresses IT service management needs.