Weiss Asset Management LP Takes Position in BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL)

Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 27,313 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,506,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in BlackLine during the first quarter worth about $1,572,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in BlackLine by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 69,139 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,350,000 after buying an additional 2,194 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in BlackLine by 13.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,306 shares of the technology company's stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackLine during the 2nd quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of BlackLine by 2.4% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 25,800 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,250,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. 95.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackLine Stock Performance

Shares of BL stock traded up $1.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $64.23. The company had a trading volume of 452,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 711,805. BlackLine, Inc. has a one year low of $43.37 and a one year high of $69.31. The firm has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 65.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $58.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Insider Activity at BlackLine

In other BlackLine news, CFO Mark Partin sold 85,308 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total transaction of $4,678,290.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 226,844 shares in the company, valued at $12,440,124.96. This represents a 27.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Karole Morgan-Prager sold 10,000 shares of BlackLine stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $550,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 113,865 shares in the company, valued at $6,262,575. This represents a 8.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 134,108 shares of company stock worth $7,488,826. Company insiders own 9.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BL shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of BlackLine in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. JMP Securities upped their price target on BlackLine from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on BlackLine from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on BlackLine from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of BlackLine from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.10.

BlackLine Profile

BlackLine, Inc provides cloud-based solutions to automate and streamline accounting and finance operations worldwide. It offers financial close management solutions, such as account reconciliations that provides a centralized workspace for users to collaborate on account reconciliations; transaction matching that analyzes and reconciles individual transactions; task management to create and manage processes and task lists; and financial reporting analytics that enables analysis and validation of financial data.