Blend Labs (NYSE:BLND) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Blend Labs, Inc. (NYSE:BLND) gapped down before the market opened on Friday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $4.00 to $3.50. The stock had previously closed at $3.51, but opened at $3.24. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Blend Labs shares last traded at $2.96, with a volume of 1,726,488 shares traded.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on BLND. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Blend Labs from $3.40 to $3.90 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.75 price objective on shares of Blend Labs in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. JMP Securities began coverage on shares of Blend Labs in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Blend Labs from $3.25 to $3.85 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blend Labs presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.04.

Insider Transactions at Blend Labs

In other news, insider Brian Kneafsey sold 30,000 shares of Blend Labs stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.73, for a total value of $111,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 776,759 shares in the company, valued at $2,897,311.07. This trade represents a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy J. Mayopoulos sold 56,490 shares of Blend Labs stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.50, for a total transaction of $310,695.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 331,130 shares in the company, valued at $1,821,215. The trade was a 14.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 270,737 shares of company stock valued at $1,196,254 over the last 90 days. 13.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blend Labs

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Blend Labs during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Blend Labs during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Olympiad Research LP acquired a new stake in shares of Blend Labs in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Trellis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Blend Labs in the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, BBR Partners LLC acquired a new position in Blend Labs during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Blend Labs Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $799.78 million, a P/E ratio of -9.19 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.02.

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.