Wall Street Zen Downgrades Blend Labs (NYSE:BLND) to Sell

Key Points

• Blend Labs has been downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a negative outlook from stock analysts.
• The stock's target prices have been lowered by multiple analysts, with Goldman Sachs reducing it from $5.60 to $4.80, and Wells Fargo from $6.00 to $5.00.
• Recently, Blend Labs shares have fallen 24.1%, currently trading at $2.71, amid a decline in market interest and mixed financial performance.

Blend Labs (NYSE:BLND - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on BLND. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Blend Labs from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Blend Labs in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $5.25 price objective on shares of Blend Labs in a research report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Blend Labs from $5.60 to $4.80 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Blend Labs from $4.00 to $3.75 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $4.88.

Blend Labs Stock Performance

BLND stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $2.97. 701,916 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,835,660. Blend Labs has a 52-week low of $2.63 and a 52-week high of $5.53. The business has a 50 day moving average of $3.43 and a 200-day moving average of $3.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $769.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.90 and a beta of 1.24.

Blend Labs (NYSE:BLND - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $31.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.93 million. Research analysts anticipate that Blend Labs will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nima Ghamsari sold 75,720 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.30, for a total value of $249,876.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 6,065,937 shares in the company, valued at $20,017,592.10. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian Kneafsey sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.63, for a total value of $90,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 721,598 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,619,400.74. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 224,850 shares of company stock valued at $763,164 in the last 90 days. 35.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blend Labs

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLND. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blend Labs during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Blend Labs during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Blend Labs during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Truist Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Blend Labs during the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Crescent Park Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Blend Labs during the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other 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.