BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Shares of BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $62.89, but opened at $66.25. BlackLine shares last traded at $65.18, with a volume of 112,995 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BL shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on BlackLine from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on BlackLine from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of BlackLine in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of BlackLine from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded BlackLine from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.10.

BlackLine Stock Down 0.4 %

The company's 50-day moving average price is $61.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.95. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 64.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.97 and a beta of 0.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackLine

In other BlackLine news, CRO Mark Woodhams sold 24,408 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.32, for a total transaction of $1,569,922.56. Following the sale, the executive now owns 72,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,690,214.40. This trade represents a 25.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of BlackLine

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in BlackLine by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 290,775 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $16,033,000 after buying an additional 34,919 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in BlackLine by 307.5% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,452 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 12,415 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in BlackLine by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,677 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 9,820 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in BlackLine in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,506,000. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in BlackLine by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 204,328 shares of the technology company's stock worth $12,335,000 after purchasing an additional 86,931 shares in the last quarter. 95.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackLine Company Profile

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.