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

Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,457,902 shares, a growth of 30.2% from the March 15th total of 1,888,251 shares. Approximately 5.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 614,824 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Insider Activity at Blackbaud

In related news, EVP Kevin P. Gregoire sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total value of $100,040.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 135,194 shares in the company, valued at $6,762,403.88. The trade was a 1.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin Mcdearis sold 15,462 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.43, for a total value of $717,900.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 91,756 shares in the company, valued at $4,260,231.08. This trade represents a 14.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 39,801 shares of company stock worth $1,893,874 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackbaud

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Blackbaud by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,516,432 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $354,762,000 after purchasing an additional 706,695 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Blackbaud by 143,409.7% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,207,179 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $139,759,000 after purchasing an additional 2,205,641 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Blackbaud by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 975,085 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $61,743,000 after purchasing an additional 5,709 shares during the period. Greenhouse Funds LLLP grew its stake in shares of Blackbaud by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Greenhouse Funds LLLP now owns 802,904 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $51,635,000 after purchasing an additional 96,457 shares during the period. Finally, Van Berkom & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackbaud by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 779,935 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $49,385,000 after acquiring an additional 111,388 shares during the period. 94.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackbaud Stock Performance

NASDAQ BLKB opened at $38.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $43.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.46. Blackbaud has a 12-month low of $33.95 and a 12-month high of $74.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.18.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The technology company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Blackbaud had a return on equity of 175.57% and a net margin of 10.19%.The company had revenue of $295.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Blackbaud has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.150-5.250 EPS. Research analysts expect that Blackbaud will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Blackbaud in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Blackbaud in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of Blackbaud from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Blackbaud in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Blackbaud in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $56.25.

Blackbaud Company Profile

Blackbaud, Inc is a leading provider of cloud software, services and data intelligence solutions designed specifically for the social good community. The company’s main offerings include fundraising and relationship management platforms, financial management systems, grant and award management tools, and advanced analytics. Its flagship products—such as Raiser’s Edge NXT, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT and Blackbaud NetCommunity—help nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, healthcare providers and foundations streamline donor engagement, optimize financial operations and measure program impact.

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, Blackbaud has grown from a small technology startup into a global specialist in nonprofit software.