--- title: "C3.ai founder Thomas Siebel sold $5.15 million of stock a day after the upgrade, under a plan set in 2024" description: "One trading day after Northland's upgrade lifted C3.ai as much as 10%, a preset trading plan exercised founder-CEO Thomas Siebel's options and sold $5.15 million of stock. By Friday the shares had fallen 8.9% and options traders had bought 199,761 calls, 403% above normal." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Markets" published: 2026-10-19T15:07:24.583Z modified: 2026-10-19T15:07:24.583Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/c3-ai-founder-thomas-siebel-sold-5-15-million-of-stock-a-day-after-the-upgrade-under-a-plan-set-in-2024 language: en keywords: "C3.ai, Insider Selling, Options, Analyst Upgrades, Software" --- # C3.ai founder Thomas Siebel sold $5.15 million of stock a day after the upgrade, under a plan set in 2024 > One trading day after Northland's upgrade lifted C3.ai as much as 10%, a preset trading plan exercised founder-CEO Thomas Siebel's options and sold $5.15 million of stock. By Friday the shares had fallen 8.9% and options traders had bought 199,761 calls, 403% above normal. Northland Capital's Michael Latimore upgraded [C3.ai](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/c3-ai) to Outperform on October 12 and [raised his target to $16 from $10](https://www.investing.com/news/analyst-ratings/northland-upgrades-c3ai-stock-rating-on-new-development-platform-93CH-4944152), betting that C3 Code, which builds AI applications from plain-English instructions, restarts growth [1][2]. The stock rose 10% that morning and closed up more than 6% [1][3]. The next trading day, founder, chairman and chief executive [Thomas M. Siebel](https://theinference.org/markets/people/thomas-m-siebel) exercised 435,363 options at $3.90 and [sold every resulting share for about $5.15 million](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1577526/000157752626000138/0001577526-26-000138-index.htm), a weighted average of $11.8179 [4]. The sale ran under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, a selling schedule fixed in advance; this one is dated September 20, 2024 [4][5]. ## The October sale was the third batch since August On August 11 the same plan sold 453,314 shares at $10.51 for $4.76 million [6]. On September 15 and 16 it [sold 444,248 at $10.77 for $4.8 million](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/c3-ai-ceo-thomas-siebel-022705811.html) [7]. October's batch filled between $11.565 and $12.0123 [4], and each exercise-and-sell left Siebel with 722,362 directly held shares [4][7]. *Chart: **Three batches, $14.7 million: the plan's sales grew each month** Column chart of the three sale batches under Siebel's 10b5-1 plan: $4.76 million in August, $4.8 million in September, $5.15 million in October* *Proceeds of each exercise-and-sell batch under the plan dated September 20, 2024, US$ millions. Sources: SEC Form 4 filed October 14, 2026; MarketBeat; Yahoo Finance. [4][6][7]* [MarketBeat](https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/options-stock-traders-buy-large-volume-of-call-options-on-c3ai-nyse-ai-2026-10-17/) counts $17.1 million of insider sales across 1.57 million shares last quarter, mostly one man's option plan plus tax-withholding sales such as finance chief [Hitesh Lath](https://theinference.org/markets/people/hitesh-lath)'s 21,077 shares [6]. Insiders still own 19.8% of the company [6]. ## The business underneath has halved *Chart: **Quarterly revenue has halved from its $108.7M peak** Line chart of C3.ai quarterly revenue from late 2023 to mid-2026, rising to $108.7M and ending at $52.4M* *Revenue by quarter, US$ millions, from C3.ai SEC filings. [9]* Quarterly revenue peaked at $108.7 million in the quarter ended April 2025 and was $52.4 million in the July quarter, down about 25% year on year, against a $92.8 million net loss under GAAP, the accounting basis that counts every cost [8][9]. [Fiscal 2026 as a whole fell 35% to $250.3 million](https://www.stocktitan.net/news/AI/), at a $470.3 million loss [8][10]. The Motley Fool traces the slide to [Siebel's own medical leave](https://www.msn.com/en-us/technology/tech-companies/c3-ai-stock-has-plummeted-by-22-in-2026-buy-the-dip-or-run-for-the-hills/ar-AA2bRPbN), which began in September 2025 and ended with his return this spring [10]. The shoots are real: bookings rose 73% from the prior quarter and cash stood at $651.1 million [8]. ## The plan predates the story, and June cuts the other way The plan's date matters more than its size. Fixed on September 20, 2024, it predates the C3 Agentic AI Platform, the medical leave and the upgrade, so it cannot have been set in response to any of them [4][10]. June points the other way. The June 3 year-end release counted $673 million of cash, including Siebel's purchase of 6.17 million shares at $11.16, a check for roughly $69 million [8]. About $14.7 million has left through the plan this year [6][7][4]; roughly $69 million went in [8]. Net, the founder bought. ## Call buyers against a $9.36 Street *Chart: **One $16 target against a $9.36 Street** Bar chart comparing Northland's $16 target, the $11.32 close and the $9.36 Street average target* *Per-share figures in US dollars, October 2026. [1][3][6]* Friday showed both camps trading. The shares fell 8.9% to $11.32 [11][6] while options traders bought [199,761 calls, about 403% above the usual 39,728 contracts](https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/options-stock-traders-buy-large-volume-of-call-options-on-c3ai-nyse-ai-2026-10-17/) [6]. No filing names whoever took the other side. The Street's average target is $9.36, seven of thirteen analysts at Sell [6], and Northland's $16 sat a third above the Street's highest in late September [3]. The stakes split along that gap. If C3 Code bookings turn into revenue, the call buyers collect and $16 becomes the number to beat; if revenue stalls near $52 million again, the Street's $9.36 looks closer to right, and the losers are the traders who bought calls on a falling stock. The first check is the October quarter, [guided to $51 million to $55 million](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/c3-ai-soars-10-northland-153101027.html) [3][8]; the real test is the January quarter, when the year-on-year comparisons finally ease [3]. Until it reports, Friday's 8.9% fall is the market's only vote on record, and it went against the call buyers [11]. Siebel, with options to November 27, 2028, can wait for his answer [4]. ## Takeaway Siebel's October sale came from a 10b5-1 plan fixed two years before the upgrade, and June's $69 million purchase outweighs this year's $14.7 million of plan sales; the real fight is the Street's $9.36 target against Northland's $16. ## Sources 1. [The Fund Newsdesk, C3.ai jumps over 6% as Northland raises target to $16, 12 October 2026](https://www.the-fund.ae/en/news/c3ai-jumps-over-6-as-northland-raises-target-to-16) 2. [Investing.com, Northland upgrades C3.ai stock rating on new development platform, 12 October 2026](https://www.investing.com/news/analyst-ratings/northland-upgrades-c3ai-stock-rating-on-new-development-platform-93CH-4944152) 3. [Yahoo Finance / TIKR, C3.ai Soars 10% as Northland Upgrade Sees 'New Growth Engine' and Easing Comps, 12 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/c3-ai-soars-10-northland-153101027.html) 4. [SEC EDGAR, Form 4, Thomas M. Siebel, C3.ai Inc., filed 14 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1577526/000157752626000138/0001577526-26-000138-index.htm) 5. [StockTitan, SEC Form 4 report: C3.ai CEO Thomas M. Siebel sells 435,363 shares, 14 October 2026](https://www.stocktitan.net/sec-filings/AI/form-4-c3-ai-inc-insider-trading-activity-6381b8e023fa.html) 6. [MarketBeat, Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on C3.ai (NYSE:AI), 17 October 2026](https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/options-stock-traders-buy-large-volume-of-call-options-on-c3ai-nyse-ai-2026-10-17/) 7. [Yahoo Finance / The Motley Fool, C3.ai CEO Thomas Siebel Sells Over 444,000 Shares Worth $4.8 Million, 25 September 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/c3-ai-ceo-thomas-siebel-022705811.html) 8. [StockTitan, C3.ai (AI) stock news feed: fiscal Q1 2027 results (2 September 2026) and fiscal 2026 results (3 June 2026)](https://www.stocktitan.net/news/AI/) 9. [C3.ai, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 19 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001577526) 10. [MSN / The Motley Fool, C3.ai Stock Has Plummeted by 22% in 2026. Buy the Dip, or Run for the Hills?, 9 September 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/technology/tech-companies/c3-ai-stock-has-plummeted-by-22-in-2026-buy-the-dip-or-run-for-the-hills/ar-AA2bRPbN) 11. [MarketBeat, C3.ai (NYSE:AI) Shares Down 8.9% - What's Next?, 16 October 2026](https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/price-c3ai-nyse-ai-shares-down-89-whats-next-2026-10-16/) --- C3.ai founder Thomas Siebel sold $5.15 million of stock a day after the upgrade, under a plan set in 2024 — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/c3-ai-founder-thomas-siebel-sold-5-15-million-of-stock-a-day-after-the-upgrade-under-a-plan-set-in-2024