BlackLine (BL) Competitors

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) and Workiva (NYSE:WK) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends and risk.

Do analysts rate BL or WK?

BlackLine currently has a consensus target price of $60.31, indicating a potential upside of 7.83%. Workiva has a consensus target price of $101.30, indicating a potential upside of 52.57%. Given Workiva's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Workiva is more favorable than BlackLine.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BlackLine	2 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.38
Workiva	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Which has more risk and volatility, BL or WK?

BlackLine has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Workiva has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor BL or WK?

In the previous week, BlackLine had 6 more articles in the media than Workiva. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for BlackLine and 3 mentions for Workiva. Workiva's average media sentiment score of 1.12 beat BlackLine's score of 1.10 indicating that Workiva is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
BlackLine	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Workiva	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is BL or WK more profitable?

BlackLine has a net margin of 23.60% compared to Workiva's net margin of -8.41%. BlackLine's return on equity of 18.70% beat Workiva's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BlackLine	23.60%	18.70%	4.05%
Workiva	-8.41%	N/A	-4.44%

Which has higher valuation & earnings, BL or WK?

BlackLine has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Workiva. Workiva is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BlackLine, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BlackLine	$653.34M	5.33	$165.81M	$1.38	40.53
Workiva	$738.68M	5.01	-$55.04M	-$1.17	-56.75

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in BL or WK?

95.1% of BlackLine shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.2% of Workiva shares are held by institutional investors. 8.6% of BlackLine shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of Workiva shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

BlackLine beats Workiva on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.