BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $46.65, but opened at $49.30. BlackLine shares last traded at $49.13, with a volume of 231,177 shares traded.

The technology company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.11. BlackLine had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 21.63%. The firm had revenue of $166.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $167.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BL. DA Davidson decreased their price target on BlackLine from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on BlackLine from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America upgraded shares of BlackLine from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $50.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on BlackLine from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of BlackLine from $55.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackLine news, CRO Mark Woodhams sold 9,088 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.67, for a total value of $451,400.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now owns 65,414 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,113.38. This trade represents a 12.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackLine

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BL. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackLine by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,539 shares of the technology company's stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BlackLine by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 290,775 shares of the technology company's stock worth $16,033,000 after purchasing an additional 34,919 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in BlackLine by 41.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 634 shares of the technology company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of BlackLine during the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in BlackLine by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,180 shares of the technology company's stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. 95.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackLine Trading Up 5.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.84, a P/E/G ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.24.

BlackLine Company Profile

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.

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