BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) Rating Lowered to Underperform at DA Davidson

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) was downgraded by equities researchers at DA Davidson from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $23.00 price target on the technology company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $30.00. DA Davidson’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 12.78% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on BL. Scotiabank cut shares of BlackLine to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $33.00 price target (down from $50.00) on shares of BlackLine in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on BlackLine from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of BlackLine in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised BlackLine from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.50.

BlackLine Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of BL stock opened at $26.37 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.66. BlackLine has a one year low of $24.70 and a one year high of $59.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $30.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.72.

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The technology company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.04. BlackLine had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The firm had revenue of $187.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. BlackLine has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.470-2.540 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.620-0.650 EPS. Analysts predict that BlackLine will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Therese Tucker sold 70,000 shares of BlackLine stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.96, for a total transaction of $2,237,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 381,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,194,561.72. This trade represents a 15.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michelle D. Stalick sold 780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.65, for a total transaction of $26,247.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 34,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,168,058.80. This trade represents a 2.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BL. Cim Investment Management Inc. grew its position in BlackLine by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,525 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 865 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in BlackLine in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,538,000. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in BlackLine in the second quarter worth $325,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in BlackLine in the second quarter worth $220,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in BlackLine in the second quarter worth $1,576,000. 95.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More BlackLine News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackLine this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackLine completed its acquisition of NetNow, adding digital credit applications, customer onboarding, credit-risk assessment, and ongoing monitoring to its Invoice-to-Cash platform. The deal could expand BlackLine’s addressable market and help customers manage credit decisions before invoices are issued, although financial terms were not disclosed. BlackLine Acquires NetNow
• Neutral Sentiment: The NetNow transaction may improve BlackLine’s end-to-end workflow and create cross-selling opportunities, but investors still need evidence that the acquisition will accelerate revenue growth or materially improve profitability. The company’s most recent reported quarter showed revenue growth and an earnings beat, but its shares remain well below the 52-week high. BlackLine Acquires NetNow Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: DA Davidson downgraded BlackLine (BL) from “Neutral” to “Underperform” and reduced its price target from $30 to $23. The firm cited risks from artificial-intelligence competition and concerns about BlackLine’s growth outlook, implying substantial downside from the stock’s referenced price. The downgrade was the main catalyst behind the recent weakness. DA Davidson Downgrades BlackLine on AI Risks

BlackLine Company Profile

BlackLine, Inc (NASDAQ: BL) provides cloud-based software designed to automate and modernize finance and accounting operations. Its platform helps organizations manage processes that traditionally rely on spreadsheets, manual data entry and disconnected systems, with an emphasis on improving efficiency, visibility and control.

The company’s products support financial close and consolidation, account reconciliations, transaction matching, intercompany accounting, accounts receivable automation, cash application, invoice-to-cash processes, lease accounting and accounting task management.