Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) Shares Gap Up to $76.72

Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $76.72, but opened at $79.04. Blackbaud shares last traded at $79.01, with a volume of 117,531 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Blackbaud from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Blackbaud from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th.

Blackbaud Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,608.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.00.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The technology company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.09. Blackbaud had a return on equity of 14.59% and a net margin of 0.16%. The business had revenue of $295.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackbaud, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Blackbaud

In other news, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 5,360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.05, for a total transaction of $396,908.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 413,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,591,091.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Anthony W. Boor sold 6,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.01, for a total value of $545,169.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 151,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,959,585.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 5,360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.05, for a total value of $396,908.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 413,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,591,091.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,897 shares of company stock valued at $4,377,015. 1.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackbaud

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackbaud by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,574,584 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $483,316,000 after purchasing an additional 23,727 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Blackbaud by 0.7% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,516,945 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $392,696,000 after buying an additional 38,024 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Blackbaud by 1.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,280,633 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $301,014,000 after buying an additional 72,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Blackbaud by 2.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,577,991 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $112,321,000 after buying an additional 31,550 shares during the last quarter. 94.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Blackbaud

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.