Backblaze (NASDAQ:BLZE) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Backblaze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLZE)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $7.40, but opened at $9.67. Backblaze shares last traded at $8.2210, with a volume of 4,016,293 shares traded.

The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.04. Backblaze had a negative return on equity of 16.73% and a negative net margin of 13.07%. The business had revenue of $46.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.59 million.

Key Stories Impacting Backblaze

Here are the key news stories impacting Backblaze this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results exceeded expectations: Backblaze reported adjusted earnings of $0.09 per share, versus the $0.05 analyst consensus, while revenue of $46.65 million topped estimates of $44.59 million. Earnings also improved from $0.03 per share a year earlier. Backblaze Announces Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Strong forward revenue outlook: Backblaze guided fourth-quarter revenue to $49.8 million-$50.2 million, well above the $47.0 million consensus. Full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $177.8 million-$178.2 million also exceeded the $173.0 million estimate. Backblaze Q4 revenue and EBITDA outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Cloud-storage momentum accelerated: Management said B2 revenue growth reached 47% year over year, up from 28% a year earlier, alongside a record number of net-new B2 self-serve customers. The company is also targeting a 32%-34% adjusted EBITDA margin for the fourth quarter. Backblaze third-quarter financial results
• Neutral Sentiment: Needham remains bullish but lowered its valuation target: Needham reduced its price target from $23 to $15 while maintaining a “buy” rating, suggesting analysts see meaningful upside but have moderated their expectations. Needham analyst recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability remains a risk: Despite the quarterly earnings beat, Backblaze continues to report a negative net margin and negative return on equity, meaning sustained profitable growth remains important to the stock’s longer-term valuation.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLZE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Backblaze from $16.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Backblaze in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Backblaze from $23.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on shares of Backblaze from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Backblaze from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gleb Budman sold 12,855 shares of Backblaze stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.82, for a total value of $203,366.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,192,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,679,069.46. This trade represents a 0.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.82, for a total transaction of $33,380.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 349,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,529,374.76. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. 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. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AWM Investment Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Backblaze in the 2nd quarter worth $22,207,000. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Backblaze by 176.7% in the third quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. now owns 1,266,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,717,000 after acquiring an additional 808,668 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Backblaze by 44.6% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,172,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,046,000 after acquiring an additional 361,905 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Backblaze in the second quarter valued at about $3,074,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in Backblaze by 385.1% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 155,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 123,382 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.03% of the company’s stock.

Backblaze Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $497.37 million, a PE ratio of -23.43 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

About Backblaze

Backblaze, Inc provides cloud storage and data backup services for businesses, developers and individual users. The company’s offerings are designed to help customers protect, store, manage and access data without maintaining their own extensive storage infrastructure.

Its primary products include Backblaze Computer Backup, a subscription service that automatically backs up data from computers, and Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage, an object-storage platform used for applications such as backup, archiving, content storage and media workflows.