Short Interest in Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) Decreases By 8.6%

Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 559,200 shares, a drop of 8.6% from the January 15th total of 611,600 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 200,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Blackbaud from $80.00 to $76.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Baird R W cut Blackbaud from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackbaud currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.33.

Blackbaud Price Performance

NASDAQ:BLKB traded down $2.30 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $66.22. 352,014 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 178,473. Blackbaud has a one year low of $66.07 and a one year high of $88.95. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.22 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $76.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.50). The business had revenue of $302.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $303.41 million. Blackbaud had a positive return on equity of 21.42% and a negative net margin of 24.83%. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackbaud will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 9,479 shares of Blackbaud stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.13, for a total transaction of $835,384.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 344,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,323,682.27. The trade was a 2.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLKB. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Blackbaud in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,168,000. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC grew its position in Blackbaud by 22.5% in the third quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 1,283,473 shares of the technology company's stock worth $108,684,000 after buying an additional 235,859 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Blackbaud by 56.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 429,051 shares of the technology company's stock worth $36,332,000 after buying an additional 154,019 shares during the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC purchased a new position in Blackbaud during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,581,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Blackbaud by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 482,561 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,671,000 after purchasing an additional 140,273 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.21% of the company's stock.

Blackbaud Company Profile

Blackbaud, Inc provides cloud software solutions to nonprofits, foundations, education institutions, and healthcare organizations in the United States and internationally. The company offers fundraising and engagement solutions, such as Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT, Blackbaud CRM, Blackbaud eTapestry, Blackbaud Luminate Online, Blackbaud TeamRaiser, JustGiving, Blackbaud Fundraiser Performance Management, Blackbaud Guided Fundraising, and Blackbaud Altru; and financial management solutions comprising Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, Blackbaud Tuition Management, and Blackbaud Financial Aid and Billing Management.