Fact based stock research
BlackLine (NasdaqGS:BL)

US09239B1098

How to read the free ranks

For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

BlackLine stock research in summary

blackline.com

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 23 (worse than 77% compared with investment alternatives), BlackLine (Application Software, USA) shares have lower financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of BlackLine are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 33 (worse than 67% of alternatives) and show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 35) but are safely financed (Safety Rank of 64), which means low debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 23, is a sell recommendation based on BlackLine's financial characteristics. As the company BlackLine's critical financial metrics exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 33) and low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 35), it is a somewhat questionable stock investment, where the risk of paying too much for the shares is significant, unless the company has an exceptionally bright future. In this case, good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 64) are a positive sign, because it may allow the company to weather challenging times until the hoped-for cash flows materialize. This may be true for high-tech or biotechnology companies with enough cash to sustain prolonged business development. If they own properties that only provide cash flows in the future, the stock may look excessively expensive and unattractive today. In such cases, the Obermatt Method has limited value, as it is based on facts we can observe today. If the facts lie all in the future, stock investing becomes guesswork, and this should only be a driver in a limited number of investments that account for a small fraction of a safe portfolio. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	33
Growth Rank	35
Safety Rank	64
Combined Rank	23

Country	USA
Industry	Application Software
Index	NASDAQ
Size class	Medium

19-Dec-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

Multiple opinions. One number.

Analysts rarely agree on a stock’s future. So, who do you believe? Obermatt translates those collective views into a single Sentiment Rank. That plus the financial ranks give you the ultimate 360° View. Sign up to access them.

Why popular stocks have low ratings

It’s easier said than done. When your stock drops, it’s easy to want to sell it and find a better performer. Think twice, or even three times, before trading. Those fees (especially the hidden ones) can eat up your gains.

Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: BlackLine

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	1	21	28	33
GROWTH
GROWTH	47	17	67	35
SAFETY
SAFETY	15	78	59	64
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	n/a	75	60	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	n/a	47	70	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 19-Dec-2024. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 30-Sep-2024. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better BlackLine is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	1	21	28	33
GROWTH
GROWTH	47	17	67	35
SAFETY
SAFETY	15	78	59	64
COMBINED
COMBINED	1	27	51	23

Last update of combined financial performance: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of BlackLine the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 33 (worse than 67% compared with alternatives), BlackLine shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators below average for BlackLine. Only Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) indicates good stock value with a rank of 53, which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 53% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning BlackLine's profit levels. But Price-to-Sales is 48 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than for 52% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning BlackLine's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 25 and for dividend yield, which is lower than for 99% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 33, is a hold recommendation based on BlackLine's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Can we rely on only one good value indicator? Only if we know the company well. In this case, a high Price-to-Profit Rank, while Price-to-Sales and Price-to-Book are both below the market typical levels, means that the company can charge higher prices for its products and needs less capital to produce them. If this is sustainable, then BlackLine is a good investment because profits count most in enterprise valuations. The low dividend yield indicates that the company is confident it can do something with the generated cash that is more valuable than paying the profits out to the shareholders in the form of dividends. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is essential in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	15	30	41	48
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	18	30	56	53
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	4	28	26	25
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	1	1	1	1
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	1	21	28	33

Last update of Value Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of BlackLine; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 35 (better than 35% compared with alternatives), BlackLine shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators below-average for BlackLine. While Sales Growth ranks at 50, professionals currently expect the company to grow more than 50% of its competitors, while all other growth ranks are below the market median. Profit Growth has a rank of 46, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 54% of its competitors, and Capital Growth has a low rank of 48. Historic stock returns were also below average with a current Stock Returns rank of 31 which means that the stock returns have recently been below 69% of alternative investments. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 35, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. If revenues are expected to increase, but all other growth indicators are negative, the company may be investing in future growth through means not visible in the balance sheet and thus not reflected in capital growth. The fact that Stock Returns have been below market doesn't mean that much, as it may be due to overly optimistic investor behavior in the past, which has been corrected to a more reasonable level recently. If that were the case, a positive Value Rank would be a reason to invest because the company is still expected to grow, while stock prices are now at a more reasonable level. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case, especially since the growth performance isn't stellar here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	52	56	57	50
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	n/a	25	88	46
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	n/a	32	63	48
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	67	33	29	31
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	47	17	67	35

Last update of Growth Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of BlackLine.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 64 (better than 64% compared with alternatives), the company BlackLine has financing practices on the safer side, which mean that their overall debt burden is lower than average. This doesn't mean that the business of BlackLine is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above-average for BlackLine. Refinancing is at 81, meaning the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 81% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at 73, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 73% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. However, Leverage is rather large at 11, which means the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 89% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 64 (better than 64% compared with alternatives), BlackLine has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. This is not bad if things go well. The higher debt level means better returns to shareholders if things go well. Many top-performing companies operate with higher debt levels, and BlackLine could be in that group. But if you expect the environment to turn rougher, the higher leverage could become a problem. The same is valid if you expect interest rates to rise. That could squeeze shareholder returns, which so far have benefitted from better conditions. In the long-term, investors may have a debt challenge with BlackLine and should also compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before making a decision. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	52	33	10	11
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	38	91	85	81
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	22	51	45	73
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	15	78	59	64

Last update of Safety Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of BlackLine and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2021	2022	2023	2024
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	52	13	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	n/a	39	50	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	n/a	51	75	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	n/a	88	85	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	n/a	75	60	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for BlackLine.
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