BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) Shares Gap Up to $58.39

BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $58.39, but opened at $60.22. BlackLine shares last traded at $61.37, with a volume of 73,184 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on BL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of BlackLine from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of BlackLine from $65.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of BlackLine in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of BlackLine in a report on Monday, March 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of BlackLine from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $62.00 in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.50.

BlackLine Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.37, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 2.19. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.21.

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $155.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $154.24 million. BlackLine had a negative net margin of 1.50% and a positive return on equity of 2.15%. As a group, research analysts expect that BlackLine, Inc. will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at BlackLine

In other news, Director Kevin B. Thompson sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $258,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $632,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas Unterman sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $45,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 51,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,088,200. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin B. Thompson sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $258,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $632,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC increased its stake in BlackLine by 94.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 452 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackLine in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of BlackLine by 505.2% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 926 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackLine by 291.2% in the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 978 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the period. Finally, Cutler Group LLC CA acquired a new stake in shares of BlackLine in the third quarter worth $74,000. Institutional investors own 95.13% of the company’s stock.

About BlackLine

BlackLine, Inc provides cloud-based solutions to automate and streamline accounting and finance operations worldwide. It offers financial close management solutions, such as account reconciliations that provides a centralized workspace for users to collaborate on account reconciliations; transaction matching that analyzes and reconciles individual transactions; task management to create and manage processes and task lists; and financial reporting analytics that enables analysis and validation of financial data.