Gagnon Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL)

Key Points

• Gagnon Advisors LLC increased its holdings in BlackLine by 25.4% during the 1st quarter, owning 130,050 shares worth approximately $6.3 million, making it the 9th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Several other institutional investors have also boosted their positions in BlackLine, with Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increasing its stake by 106.4% during the same period.
• Analysts have raised their price targets on BlackLine, with Truist Financial setting a new target of $50 and Raymond James giving it an "outperform" rating with a target of $67.

Gagnon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL - Free Report) by 25.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 130,050 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 26,358 shares during the period. BlackLine makes up approximately 4.4% of Gagnon Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Gagnon Advisors LLC owned about 0.21% of BlackLine worth $6,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BL. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackLine by 243.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 584 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackLine in the 4th quarter worth $73,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of BlackLine by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,672 shares of the technology company's stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of BlackLine by 67.6% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 2,122 shares of the technology company's stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in BlackLine by 33.9% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,919 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 739 shares during the period. 95.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at BlackLine

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $67.00 price target (up from $58.00) on shares of BlackLine in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on BlackLine from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on BlackLine in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson began coverage on BlackLine in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on BlackLine from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.08.

BlackLine Stock Up 2.6%

BL stock traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $49.30. The company had a trading volume of 718,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 745,808. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. BlackLine has a fifty-two week low of $40.82 and a fifty-two week high of $66.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.76.

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $172.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.87 million. BlackLine had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 13.05%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that BlackLine 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.