Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) Short Interest Down 8.1% in July

Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 520,300 shares, a drop of 8.1% from the July 15th total of 566,400 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 229,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLKB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised Blackbaud to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Blackbaud from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Blackbaud from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st.

Blackbaud Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of BLKB opened at $78.58 on Tuesday. Blackbaud has a fifty-two week low of $64.32 and a fifty-two week high of $88.56. The company has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 191.66 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $76.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.04. Blackbaud had a return on equity of 18.54% and a net margin of 3.64%. The firm had revenue of $287.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Blackbaud will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sarah E. Nash sold 3,220 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total value of $245,299.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,043,376.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Sarah E. Nash sold 3,220 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total value of $245,299.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,043,376.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Kevin P. Gregoire sold 9,902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.54, for a total transaction of $787,605.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 118,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,500.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 53,418 shares of company stock worth $4,161,976. Company insiders own 1.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackbaud

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning increased its position in Blackbaud by 36.2% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,467 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackbaud by 2,240.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 63,411 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,830,000 after buying an additional 60,702 shares during the period. Mcmorgan & Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackbaud by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mcmorgan & Co. LLC now owns 62,751 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,780,000 after buying an additional 2,957 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C purchased a new position in shares of Blackbaud in the 2nd quarter worth $372,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Blackbaud in the second quarter valued at $1,048,000. 94.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackbaud Company Profile

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.