Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) Stock

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has raised its price target for BlackLine from $65.00 to $68.00, indicating a potential upside of 30.21% from the stock's previous close with an "overweight" rating.
• BlackLine's quarterly earnings report revealed a net margin of 23.60% and a 7.2% increase in revenue year-over-year, with an EPS of $0.51, slightly above analyst expectations.
• The consensus rating for BlackLine is currently a "Hold", with 95.13% of the company's stock owned by institutional investors.

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $65.00 to $68.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the technology company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would suggest a potential upside of 37.60% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of BlackLine from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded BlackLine from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on BlackLine from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on BlackLine from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on BlackLine from $51.00 to $43.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.08.

BlackLine Stock Performance

BL stock traded down $1.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.42. 155,610 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 739,021. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. BlackLine has a twelve month low of $40.82 and a twelve month high of $66.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.54 and a beta of 0.91.

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.01. BlackLine had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 13.05%. The business had revenue of $172.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $170.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BlackLine will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BlackLine

In other BlackLine news, CAO Michelle D. Stalick sold 795 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.14, for a total value of $43,836.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 25,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,391,457.90. This represents a 3.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CRO Mark Woodhams sold 1,856 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.65, for a total value of $101,430.40. Following the sale, the executive owned 61,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,354,963.50. This represents a 2.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackLine

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of BlackLine in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in BlackLine in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in BlackLine by 243.5% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 584 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in BlackLine by 57.5% during the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,235 shares of the technology company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in BlackLine during the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.13% of the company's stock.

About BlackLine

BlackLine, Inc operates a cloud-based software platform which is designed to transform accounting and finance operations for organizations of all types and sizes. Its scalable platform supports critical accounting processes such as the financial close, account reconciliations, intercompany accounting, and controls assurance.