Blend Labs (NYSE:BLND) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Blend Labs, Inc. (NYSE:BLND)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.77, but opened at $3.95. Blend Labs shares last traded at $3.92, with a volume of 307,364 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BLND. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Blend Labs from $4.50 to $6.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Blend Labs from $3.25 to $3.85 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Blend Labs to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Blend Labs from $3.00 to $4.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Blend Labs from $3.40 to $3.90 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.11.

Blend Labs Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.04 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $4.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.92.

Blend Labs (NYSE:BLND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $45.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.30 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.13) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Blend Labs, Inc. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blend Labs

In related news, insider Brian Kneafsey sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.41, for a total transaction of $102,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 836,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,853,348.19. This represents a 3.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy J. Mayopoulos sold 42,721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $213,605.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 387,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,938,100. The trade was a 9.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 331,782 shares of company stock valued at $1,504,778. Corporate insiders own 13.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Olympiad Research LP bought a new stake in shares of Blend Labs during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Trellis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Blend Labs in the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Blend Labs in the 3rd quarter valued at $63,000. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blend Labs by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 17,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 4,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blend Labs during the third quarter worth $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Blend Labs Company Profile

Blend Labs, Inc engages in the provision of cloud-based software platform solutions for financial services firms in the United States. It operates in two segments, Blend Platform and Title365. The company's Blend Builder Platform offers a suite of products that powers digital-first consumer journeys for mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, vehicle loans, personal loans, credit cards, and deposit accounts; and offers mortgage products to facilitate the homeownership journey for consumers comprising close, income verification for mortgage, homeowners' insurance, and realty.