Backblaze, Inc. $BLZE Shares Acquired by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its Backblaze stake by 385.1% in the second quarter, ending with 155,417 shares valued at approximately $2.47 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 54.03% of the company.
• Backblaze reported quarterly revenue of $42.71 million and EPS of $0.08, exceeding analyst estimates of $39.94 million and $0.02, respectively. The company remains unprofitable, with a negative net margin of 13.07%.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with eight Buy ratings and a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating alongside a $19.71 price target. CEO Gleb Budman and CFO Marc Suidan sold shares to cover tax withholding obligations tied to equity awards.

Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in Backblaze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLZE - Free Report) by 385.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 155,417 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 123,382 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Backblaze worth $2,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BLZE. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Backblaze by 83.8% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Backblaze by 319.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,514 shares of the company's stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 9,529 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Backblaze during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $314,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Backblaze during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $22,207,000. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P acquired a new stake in shares of Backblaze during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $323,000. 54.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Backblaze

In related news, CEO Gleb Budman sold 12,855 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.82, for a total value of $203,366.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,192,103 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,679,069.46. This trade represents a 0.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Marc Suidan sold 2,110 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.82, for a total value of $33,380.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 349,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,529,374.76. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

Backblaze Stock Up 3.5%

Backblaze stock opened at $12.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $794.80 million, a PE ratio of -37.76 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.57. Backblaze, Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.26 and a 12 month high of $23.99.

Backblaze (NASDAQ:BLZE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.06. Backblaze had a negative return on equity of 16.73% and a negative net margin of 13.07%.The firm had revenue of $42.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.94 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Backblaze, Inc. will post -0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on BLZE. Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Backblaze from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $6.50 to $16.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citizens Jmp raised their price target on shares of Backblaze from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Backblaze from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Backblaze in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Backblaze in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.71.

About Backblaze

Backblaze, Inc provides cloud storage and data backup services for businesses, developers and individual users. Its platform is designed to help customers store, protect, manage and recover data through scalable cloud-based infrastructure.

The company's principal offerings include Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage, an object-storage service used for applications, content distribution, backup, archiving and disaster recovery, and Backblaze Computer Backup, which helps individuals and organizations back up data from computers.

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