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

Blend Labs, Inc. (NYSE:BLND) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $5.04, but opened at $5.33. Blend Labs shares last traded at $5.16, with a volume of 436,921 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLND has been the subject of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Blend Labs from $4.75 to $5.75 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Blend Labs to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JMP Securities began coverage on shares of Blend Labs in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised 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 upped their price objective on Blend Labs from $3.40 to $3.90 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Blend Labs currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.11.

Blend Labs Trading Down 5.7 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of -13.03 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Winnie Ling sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.43, for a total value of $68,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 259,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $888,949.67. This trade represents a 7.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy J. Mayopoulos sold 42,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $213,605.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 387,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,938,100. This trade represents a 9.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 211,838 shares of company stock valued at $1,050,644 in the last quarter. 13.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BLND. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Blend Labs by 697.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,733,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,249,000 after buying an additional 2,390,337 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Blend Labs during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,463,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Blend Labs in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $63,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Blend Labs by 263.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 407,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 295,460 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Blend Labs by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,767,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,880,000 after buying an additional 283,207 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

About Blend Labs

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.