Blend Labs (NYSE:BLND) Coverage Initiated at JMP Securities

JMP Securities started coverage on shares of Blend Labs (NYSE:BLND) in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Blend Labs from $3.00 to $4.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Blend Labs from $4.50 to $6.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Blend Labs from $3.40 to $3.90 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Blend Labs from $3.25 to $3.85 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Blend Labs from $4.75 to $5.75 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.11.

Blend Labs Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BLND traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $4.64. The stock had a trading volume of 229,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,366,063. Blend Labs has a twelve month low of $2.08 and a twelve month high of $5.53. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $4.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.59. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.65 and a beta of 1.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian Kneafsey sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.12, for a total transaction of $153,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 937,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,799,687.68. This trade represents a 3.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Timothy J. Mayopoulos sold 56,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.50, for a total value of $310,695.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 331,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,821,215. This represents a 14.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 211,838 shares of company stock worth $1,050,644 over the last 90 days. 13.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blend Labs

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Blend Labs in the second quarter worth $31,000. Xponance Inc. purchased a new stake in Blend Labs in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Blend Labs in the 3rd quarter worth about $63,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Blend Labs in the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Blend Labs by 15.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 3,576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.