BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) Stock Price Down 5.8% Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• BlackLine shares fell 5.8% after DA Davidson downgraded the stock to “underperform” and cut its price target from $30 to $23.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but has weakened, with BlackLine holding an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $39.50; Morgan Stanley also recently reduced its target to $33.
• BlackLine’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $0.61 versus $0.57 expected and revenue up 9.1% year over year to $187.82 million. Insiders sold shares recently, while institutional investors own 95.13% of the stock.

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 5.8% on Monday after DA Davidson downgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an underperform rating. DA Davidson now has a $23.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $30.00. BlackLine traded as low as $25.95 and last traded at $26.3680. Approximately 151,748 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 1,190,605 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.99.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on BL. Scotiabank lowered shares of BlackLine to an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 price objective on BlackLine in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $33.00 target price (down from $50.00) on shares of BlackLine in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded BlackLine from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut BlackLine from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackLine presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackLine

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackLine during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,538,000. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of BlackLine during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $325,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackLine in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of BlackLine in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,576,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of BlackLine during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,532,000. 95.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackLine Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of 46.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.81.

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

About BlackLine

BlackLine, Inc NASDAQ: BL provides cloud-based software designed to automate and modernize finance and accounting operations. Its platform helps organizations manage processes that traditionally rely on spreadsheets, manual data entry and disconnected systems, with an emphasis on improving efficiency, visibility and control.

The company's products support financial close and consolidation, account reconciliations, transaction matching, intercompany accounting, accounts receivable automation, cash application, invoice-to-cash processes, lease accounting and accounting task management.

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