Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 838,100 shares, a growth of 33.0% from the March 31st total of 630,200 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 295,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Blackbaud Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of BLKB stock traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $77.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 141,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 284,995. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a PE ratio of 2,598.33 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.47. Blackbaud has a 12-month low of $64.32 and a 12-month high of $88.56.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The technology company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.09. Blackbaud had a return on equity of 14.59% and a net margin of 0.16%. The company had revenue of $295.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $299.04 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Blackbaud will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Blackbaud

In related news, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 25,354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.77, for a total value of $1,743,594.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 357,104 shares in the company, valued at $24,558,042.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 25,354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.77, for a total value of $1,743,594.58. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 357,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,558,042.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Anthony W. Boor sold 4,955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.06, for a total transaction of $366,967.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,324,546.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,897 shares of company stock worth $4,377,015 over the last quarter. 1.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackbaud

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackbaud during the first quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its stake in Blackbaud by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 10,939 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $811,000 after buying an additional 1,552 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Blackbaud by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 264,816 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $19,633,000 after buying an additional 12,881 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Blackbaud by 28.9% in the 1st quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 289,989 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $21,500,000 after buying an additional 64,960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Blackbaud by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,574,584 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $483,316,000 after buying an additional 23,727 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLKB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Blackbaud from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Blackbaud from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday.

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.