BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) Sees Strong Trading Volume

BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 1,354,181 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 52% from the previous session’s volume of 892,398 shares.The stock last traded at $52.53 and had previously closed at $52.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on BL shares. Piper Sandler upgraded BlackLine from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $62.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. William Blair upgraded BlackLine to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on BlackLine from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on BlackLine from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of BlackLine in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.10.

BlackLine Trading Down 0.2 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 229.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.67 and a beta of 0.87.

Insider Activity

In other news, CRO Mark Woodhams sold 2,877 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total transaction of $166,866.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 104,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,556. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Kevin B. Thompson sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $258,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $632,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CRO Mark Woodhams sold 2,877 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total transaction of $166,866.00. Following the sale, the executive now owns 104,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,556. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackLine

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BL. Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of BlackLine by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 124,266 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,025,000 after acquiring an additional 13,066 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of BlackLine by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 30,216 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 2,106 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of BlackLine by 346.5% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 31,846 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,055,000 after acquiring an additional 24,713 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackLine during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in shares of BlackLine by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 144,008 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,293,000 after acquiring an additional 43,103 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.13% of the company’s stock.

About BlackLine

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.