Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) Short Interest Update

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

Blackbaud Price Performance

BLKB stock traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $78.90. The company had a trading volume of 108,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 275,164. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,624.00 and a beta of 1.04. Blackbaud has a 1-year low of $64.32 and a 1-year high of $88.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $73.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.47.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The technology company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $295.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $299.04 million. Blackbaud had a return on equity of 14.59% and a net margin of 0.16%. Blackbaud’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Blackbaud will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 25,354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.77, for a total transaction of $1,743,594.58. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 25,354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.77, for a total transaction of $1,743,594.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 5,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.05, for a total transaction of $396,908.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 413,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,591,091.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,897 shares of company stock worth $4,377,015 over the last ninety days. 1.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackbaud

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackbaud by 859.2% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,930 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,753,000 after purchasing an additional 22,331 shares during the last quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Blackbaud during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackbaud in the third quarter worth approximately $1,890,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Blackbaud by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,915 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Blackbaud by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 273,064 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $19,202,000 after acquiring an additional 16,903 shares in the last quarter. 94.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Blackbaud from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Blackbaud from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday.

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.