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

Blend Labs, Inc. (NYSE:BLND)’s stock price 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.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Blend Labs from $3.25 to $3.85 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Blend Labs from $4.50 to $6.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $5.75 price objective on shares of Blend Labs in a report on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities started coverage on shares of Blend Labs in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Blend Labs from $3.40 to $3.90 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blend Labs currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.04.

Insider Transactions at Blend Labs

In other Blend Labs news, Director Timothy J. Mayopoulos sold 56,490 shares of Blend Labs stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.50, for a total value of $310,695.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian Kneafsey sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.12, for a total value of $153,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 937,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,799,687.68. The trade was a 3.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 270,737 shares of company stock valued at $1,196,254. Company insiders own 13.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blend Labs

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLND. Lightspeed Management Company L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Blend Labs in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,366,000. Whitebark Investors LP bought a new stake in Blend Labs during the 4th quarter worth $10,895,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,390,337 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Blend Labs by 57.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,461,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Blend Labs during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,765,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blend Labs Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.02. The company has a market capitalization of $799.78 million, a P/E ratio of -9.19 and a beta of 1.36.

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.