Blend Labs, Inc. (NYSE:BLND) Short Interest Up 5.8% in September

Blend Labs, Inc. (NYSE:BLND) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,930,000 shares, a growth of 5.8% from the August 31st total of 13,170,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,520,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Approximately 7.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Blend Labs Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLND opened at $3.58 on Wednesday. Blend Labs has a 52 week low of $1.14 and a 52 week high of $4.25. The company’s fifty day moving average is $3.50 and its 200-day moving average is $3.00. The company has a market capitalization of $903.51 million, a PE ratio of -6.17 and a beta of 1.15.

Blend Labs (NYSE:BLND) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $40.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.50 million. Blend Labs had a negative net margin of 77.63% and a negative return on equity of 595.99%. On average, analysts forecast that Blend Labs will post -0.27 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLND has been the topic of several analyst reports. William Blair raised shares of Blend Labs from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Blend Labs from $3.00 to $3.25 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Blend Labs from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $3.00 to $4.75 in a report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Blend Labs from $3.00 to $3.40 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Blend Labs from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $3.00 to $4.75 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Winnie Ling sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.33, for a total transaction of $66,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 286,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $953,765.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,303 shares of company stock valued at $124,326. 11.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Blend Labs during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Xponance Inc. acquired a new position in Blend Labs during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Berylson Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Blend Labs during the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Caxton Associates LP acquired a new position in Blend Labs during the 1st quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Cannon Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Blend Labs during the 1st quarter worth about $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.