Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Blackbaud shares opened sharply lower, falling from a prior close of $53.70 to $46.48 before trading near $50.38.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: two analysts rate the stock a Buy and three rate it Hold, producing a consensus rating of Hold and a $49.50 price target.
• Blackbaud exceeded quarterly EPS expectations with $1.36 versus $1.33, while revenue rose 4.1% year over year but came in slightly below estimates. Company insiders sold 43,086 shares worth about $2.0 million during the quarter.

Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $53.70, but opened at $46.48. Blackbaud shares last traded at $50.3810, with a volume of 61,497 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on BLKB shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Blackbaud from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Blackbaud in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Blackbaud from $45.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Blackbaud from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.50.

Blackbaud Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 1.04. The business's 50-day moving average price is $46.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.62.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $292.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $293.93 million. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Blackbaud, Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 17,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.35, for a total value of $804,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 423,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,041,550.40. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Chad Anderson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total transaction of $95,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,848,035.48. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 43,086 shares of company stock valued at $2,001,761 over the last quarter. 2.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BLKB. Performa Ltd US LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackbaud by 337.5% in the 2nd quarter. Performa Ltd US LLC now owns 875 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Blackbaud by 107.1% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 959 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Blackbaud during the first quarter worth $29,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Blackbaud by 528.0% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Blackbaud by 44.3% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 867 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. 94.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Blackbaud

Blackbaud, Inc NASDAQ: BLKB develops cloud-based software and services for nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, healthcare and other social-impact organizations. Its technology helps customers manage fundraising, donor relationships, financial operations, grantmaking, marketing, ticketing, payments and community engagement.

The company's product portfolio includes solutions such as Raiser's Edge NXT for nonprofit fundraising and constituent relationship management, Financial Edge NXT for nonprofit accounting, Luminate for online fundraising and advocacy, Grantmaking, Blackbaud Tuition Management, and Altru for cultural organizations.

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