StockNews.com Upgrades BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) to Buy

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Thursday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of BlackLine from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of BlackLine from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of BlackLine from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on BlackLine from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on BlackLine from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.40.

BlackLine Trading Down 1.7 %

BlackLine stock traded down $0.89 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $51.37. The company had a trading volume of 913,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 516,899. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 2.69. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.42, a P/E/G ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $61.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.90. BlackLine has a 1 year low of $43.37 and a 1 year high of $69.31.

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.29). BlackLine had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 31.02%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackLine will post 1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at BlackLine

In related news, CRO Mark Woodhams sold 24,408 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.32, for a total transaction of $1,569,922.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 72,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,690,214.40. This trade represents a 25.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 9.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in BlackLine during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackLine by 568.4% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 528 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in BlackLine by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 634 shares of the technology company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in BlackLine in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. 95.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BlackLine

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.