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

Key Points

• Gagnon Securities LLC increased its position in BlackLine by 27.1%, acquiring over 53,000 shares and making it their 13th largest holding, valued at approximately $12 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Westwood Holdings Group and Bayforest Capital Ltd, have significantly raised their stakes in BlackLine, resulting in institutional investors holding 95.13% of the company's stock.
• Analysts generally maintain a neutral rating on BlackLine, with a recent increase in price targets by firms such as Piper Sandler ($50) and Morgan Stanley ($68), while the stock has an average target price of $61.29.

Gagnon Securities LLC boosted its holdings in BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL - Free Report) by 27.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 250,738 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 53,460 shares during the period. BlackLine accounts for approximately 2.7% of Gagnon Securities LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Gagnon Securities LLC owned about 0.40% of BlackLine worth $12,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in BlackLine by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 4,422 shares of the technology company's stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in BlackLine by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,967 shares of the technology company's stock worth $870,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackLine by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,038 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackLine by 243.5% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 584 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BL shares. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $67.00 target price (up from $58.00) on shares of BlackLine in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of BlackLine from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of BlackLine from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of BlackLine in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of BlackLine in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackLine presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.08.

BlackLine Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ BL traded up $0.59 during trading on Monday, hitting $48.94. The stock had a trading volume of 269,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 741,511. BlackLine has a 12 month low of $40.82 and a 12 month high of $66.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 37.97, a P/E/G ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company's 50-day moving average price is $55.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.85.

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $172.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.87 million. BlackLine had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 13.05%. The firm's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackLine will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CRO Mark Woodhams sold 1,856 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.65, for a total transaction of $101,430.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive directly owned 61,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,354,963.50. This represents a 2.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Michelle D. Stalick sold 795 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.14, for a total value of $43,836.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 25,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,391,457.90. The trade was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

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.