Clearline Capital LP Takes Position in BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL)

Clearline Capital LP purchased a new stake in BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 158,373 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,673,000. Clearline Capital LP owned 0.26% of BlackLine at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased 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 valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in BlackLine by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,638 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in BlackLine by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,495 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in BlackLine by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 4,699 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in BlackLine by 9,080.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 459 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.13% of the company’s stock.

BlackLine Stock Performance

BL stock opened at $52.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 229.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74. BlackLine, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.37 and a 1-year high of $69.31.

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.08. BlackLine had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 33.96%. The business had revenue of $160.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $158.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.69) earnings per share. BlackLine’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that BlackLine, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at BlackLine

In other BlackLine news, insider Karole Morgan-Prager sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $500,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 115,424 shares in the company, valued at $5,771,200. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other BlackLine news, insider Karole Morgan-Prager sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 115,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,771,200. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Barbara Whye sold 5,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.01, for a total transaction of $279,709.78. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $352,471.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,765 shares of company stock valued at $851,418 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BL shares. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on BlackLine from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of BlackLine from $62.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of BlackLine from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of BlackLine from $72.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of BlackLine in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.78.

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.