BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL) Short Interest Update

BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,220,000 shares, an increase of 9.9% from the March 15th total of 3,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 953,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days. Currently, 10.0% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BL. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on BlackLine from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of BlackLine from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of BlackLine in a report on Monday, March 18th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of BlackLine from $65.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of BlackLine in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackLine presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.80.

BlackLine Stock Performance

Shares of BL traded down $2.70 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $60.84. 802,459 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 928,154. BlackLine has a 12 month low of $47.26 and a 12 month high of $69.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -608.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 0.86. The business's 50-day moving average price is $62.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.37, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 2.19.

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.28. BlackLine had a positive return on equity of 2.15% and a negative net margin of 1.50%. The firm had revenue of $155.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $154.24 million. Equities analysts predict that BlackLine will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at BlackLine

In related news, Director Kevin B. Thompson sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $258,750.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $632,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Kevin B. Thompson sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $258,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $632,500. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Unterman sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $45,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,470 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,088,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackLine

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackLine by 94.8% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 452 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in BlackLine during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in BlackLine by 1,101.9% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 625 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in BlackLine by 505.2% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 926 shares of the technology company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in BlackLine by 291.2% in the 3rd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 978 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.13% of the company's stock.

About BlackLine

BlackLine, Inc provides cloud-based solutions to automate and streamline accounting and finance operations worldwide. It offers financial close management solutions, such as account reconciliations that provides a centralized workspace for users to collaborate on account reconciliations; transaction matching that analyzes and reconciles individual transactions; task management to create and manage processes and task lists; and financial reporting analytics that enables analysis and validation of financial data.