BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $44.09, but opened at $48.80. BlackLine shares last traded at $49.20, with a volume of 157,770 shares traded.

The technology company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.08. BlackLine had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 2.30%. The company had revenue of $160.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $158.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.69) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on BL shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on BlackLine from $62.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of BlackLine from $61.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of BlackLine in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of BlackLine from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of BlackLine from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackLine currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.67.

Insider Activity at BlackLine

In related news, insider Jimmy C. Duan bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $47.73 per share, with a total value of $95,460.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 50,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,682.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other BlackLine news, CEO Owen Ryan acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $49.88 per share, with a total value of $149,640.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,279,886.24. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jimmy C. Duan acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $47.73 per share, with a total value of $95,460.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 50,360 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,682.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 9.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of BlackLine

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BL. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of BlackLine by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,638 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of BlackLine by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 156,432 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,579,000 after acquiring an additional 3,857 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of BlackLine during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,212,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackLine during the 2nd quarter valued at $145,000. Finally, Nicholas Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BlackLine by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 131,675 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,380,000 after acquiring an additional 19,120 shares in the last quarter. 95.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackLine Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 213.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.08, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a current ratio of 2.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $46.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.66.

BlackLine Company 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.