Legal & General Group Plc Makes New Investment in BlackLine $BL

Key Points

• Legal & General Group acquired 108,169 BlackLine shares worth approximately $3.04 million, representing about 0.19% of the company. Other institutions also initiated positions, and institutional investors collectively own 95.13% of BlackLine.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $40.08; recent targets range from $26 to $36, while Morgan Stanley cut its target to $33 from $50.
• BlackLine reported quarterly EPS of $0.61, beating estimates by $0.04, while revenue rose 9.1% year over year to $187.82 million. Shares recently traded at $32.71, and two insiders sold shares, including director Therese Tucker’s $2.24 million sale.

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 108,169 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $3,036,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.19% of BlackLine at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BL. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of BlackLine in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $698,000. ICONIQ Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackLine during the 2nd quarter worth $58,584,000. P Schoenfeld Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in BlackLine during the 2nd quarter valued at $603,505. Tejara Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of BlackLine during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,715,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in BlackLine during the second quarter worth approximately $1,562,000. 95.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of BlackLine in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 price objective on BlackLine in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America began coverage on BlackLine in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded BlackLine from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $33.00 price target (down from $50.00) on shares of BlackLine in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackLine presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Michelle D. Stalick sold 780 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.65, for a total transaction of $26,247.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 34,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,168,058.80. This represents a 2.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Therese Tucker sold 70,000 shares of BlackLine stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.96, for a total value of $2,237,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 381,557 shares in the company, valued at $12,194,561.72. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 9.10% of the company's stock.

BlackLine Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BL opened at $32.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 57.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $30.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. BlackLine has a fifty-two week low of $24.70 and a fifty-two week high of $59.57.

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The technology company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $187.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.99 million. BlackLine had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. BlackLine has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.470-2.540 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.620-0.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that BlackLine will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackLine Profile

BlackLine, Inc is a leading provider of cloud-based software solutions designed to automate and modernize the finance and accounting function. The company's flagship offering, the BlackLine Finance Controls and Automation Platform, enables organizations to streamline critical processes such as account reconciliations, journal entry management, intercompany accounting, and transaction matching. By delivering a centralized, real-time view of financial data, BlackLine helps companies improve operational efficiency, enhance compliance and strengthen internal controls.

Key products and services within the BlackLine platform include Account Reconciliation, Task Management, Transaction Matching, Journal Entry, and Intercompany Hub.

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