Piper Sandler analyst Brent Bracelin upgraded BlackLine (BL) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $78, up from $60. The analyst sees "strong momentum" for the company entering 2020 with several potential upside levers, including SAP Solex deal momentum, mix shift to strategic automation products, and direct sales investments that are starting to bear fruit. Bracelin sees a favorable risk/reward with downside risk in the shares "tempered" by BlackLine's strategic relationship with SAP (SAP). BlackLine can see further multiple expansion as visibility continues to improve, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

Berenberg raised the firm's price target on SAP to EUR 195 from EUR 190 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares.

HSBC raised the firm's price target on SAP to EUR 200 from EUR 180 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company's Q1 report was "solid even if not spectacular" as it sees continued strong momentum, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says SAP's long-term revenue growth prospects are supported by a shift to cloud combined with monetization of its artificial intelligence opportunity.

Barclays lowered the firm's price target on SAP to $210 from $212 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares post the Q1 report. SAP is well positioned for artificial intelligence, but the near-term financial impact is likely to be limited, while any restructuring creep should drive further EBIT upside, files to sell common stock, no amount given

Piper Sandler upgraded BlackLine to Neutral from Underweight with a price target of $62, up from $55. The analyst says further downside risks appear limited relative to second half of 2024 consensus growth estimates of 8%. The estimate could prove too conservative based on improving cloud fundamentals at SAP where the cloud backlog increased by EUR 3B year-over-year to EUR 14.2B on 28% constant currency growth versus 27% last quarter, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm, however, says cloud backlog may take time to materialize into a tailwind for BlackLine. It notes about 25% of BlackLine sales were driven by the SAP partnership last year.