Backblaze (NASDAQ:BLZE) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Backblaze (NASDAQ:BLZE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Backblaze from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Backblaze from $23.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Lake Street Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Backblaze in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on shares of Backblaze from $16.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Backblaze in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Backblaze presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.57.

Backblaze Stock Down 11.9%

Shares of Backblaze stock traded down $1.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $7.74. 3,762,342 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,954,495. Backblaze has a 1 year low of $3.26 and a 1 year high of $23.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $11.18 and its 200 day moving average is $9.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a current ratio of 3.17. The firm has a market cap of $489.17 million, a PE ratio of -24.97 and a beta of 1.64.

Backblaze (NASDAQ:BLZE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $46.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.59 million. Backblaze had a negative return on equity of 13.34% and a negative net margin of 11.47%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Backblaze will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gleb Budman sold 12,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.82, for a total transaction of $203,366.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,192,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,679,069.46. This represents a 0.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Marc Suidan sold 2,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.82, for a total value of $33,380.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 349,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,529,374.76. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 4.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Backblaze

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Backblaze by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Backblaze by 842.2% during the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Backblaze in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in Backblaze in the third quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Backblaze by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 21,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 4,365 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.03% of the company’s stock.

About Backblaze

Backblaze, Inc. provides cloud storage and data-protection services for individuals and businesses. Its offerings include Backblaze Computer Backup, which backs up files from computers, and Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage, an object-storage service used to store and manage data. Founded in 2007, the company serves customers around the world through its cloud platform. B2 Cloud Storage supports integrations with a range of software and storage tools, while the company’s backup services are designed to help customers protect and restore data.