BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $45.00. The stock had previously closed at $46.65, but opened at $49.30. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. BlackLine shares last traded at $49.13, with a volume of 231,177 shares changing hands.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded BlackLine from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of BlackLine in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America raised BlackLine from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $50.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on BlackLine from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on BlackLine from $51.00 to $43.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.75.

Insider Transactions at BlackLine

In other news, CRO Mark Woodhams sold 9,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.67, for a total transaction of $451,400.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now owns 65,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,249,113.38. This represents a 12.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 8.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackLine

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in BlackLine by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 172,195 shares of the technology company's stock worth $8,338,000 after acquiring an additional 2,031 shares during the last quarter. Gagnon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackLine by 25.4% in the first quarter. Gagnon Advisors LLC now owns 130,050 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,297,000 after purchasing an additional 26,358 shares in the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackLine by 27.1% in the first quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 250,738 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $12,141,000 after purchasing an additional 53,460 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in BlackLine by 106.4% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,186,347 shares of the technology company's stock worth $57,443,000 after acquiring an additional 611,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in BlackLine by 3.7% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 85,274 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,129,000 after acquiring an additional 3,036 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.13% of the company's stock.

BlackLine Stock Up 3.2%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.94.

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.29). BlackLine had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 21.63%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BlackLine, Inc. will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.