Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Acquires New Position in BILL Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BILL)

Key Points

• Baker Avenue Asset Management LP has acquired a new stake in BILL Holdings, purchasing 18,408 shares valued at approximately $845,000 in the first quarter.
• BILL Holdings reported earnings of $0.50 per share for the latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.37, while revenue increased 10.9% year-over-year to $358.22 million.
• Several leading investment firms have shifted their ratings on BILL's stock recently, with Morgan Stanley downgrading it, while Needham & Company reiterated a "buy" rating with a target price of $75.00.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of BILL Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BILL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 18,408 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $845,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in BILL by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,879,448 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,091,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241,432 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of BILL by 828.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,301,720 shares of the company's stock worth $110,269,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161,457 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of BILL during the 1st quarter worth about $32,460,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BILL during the 4th quarter worth about $55,743,000. Finally, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of BILL by 86.9% during the 4th quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 1,145,931 shares of the company's stock worth $97,072,000 after purchasing an additional 532,726 shares during the period. 97.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at BILL

In other BILL news, insider Rajesh A. Aji sold 1,780 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.25, for a total transaction of $80,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $420,734.50. This represents a 16.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Germaine Cota sold 1,718 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total transaction of $73,100.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $404,735.60. This represents a 15.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BILL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of BILL from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of BILL from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of BILL from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of BILL from $105.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of BILL in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BILL presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.10.

BILL Stock Performance

NYSE:BILL traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $41.83. 70,276 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,549,066. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -348.55, a PEG ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 1.35. BILL Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.55 and a 52-week high of $100.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The company's 50 day moving average price is $45.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.37.

BILL (NYSE:BILL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $358.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $355.85 million. BILL had a net margin of 2.70% and a return on equity of 1.21%. BILL's revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that BILL Holdings, Inc. will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

BILL Company Profile

BILL Holdings, Inc provides financial automation software for small and midsize businesses worldwide. The company provides software-as-a-service, cloud-based payments, and spend management products, which allow users to automate accounts payable and accounts receivable transactions, as well as enable users to connect with their suppliers and/or customers to do business, eliminate expense reports, manage cash flows, and improve office efficiency.