Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) was the target of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 659,400 shares, a growth of 15.7% from the August 31st total of 570,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 196,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Insider Activity at Blackbaud

In related news, SVP Jon W. Olson sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,251,728. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Blackbaud news, EVP Kevin Mcdearis sold 3,210 shares of Blackbaud stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.16, for a total transaction of $273,363.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 63,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,433,378.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jon W. Olson sold 4,000 shares of Blackbaud stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $304,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,251,728. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,409 shares of company stock valued at $4,483,193 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.95% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackbaud

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

Blackbaud Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLKB traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $84.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 147,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 239,208. Blackbaud has a 12-month low of $64.32 and a 12-month high of $88.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $80.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 205.12 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Blackbaud will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackbaud declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to repurchase $800.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 18.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Blackbaud to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Blackbaud from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Blackbaud from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st.

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.