Blend Labs (NYSE:BLND) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Key Points

• Blend Labs shares experienced a significant gap down opening at $3.15 following weak earnings, trading at $2.89 later in the day, after missing EPS and revenue expectations.
• Analysts have revised their price targets, with some lowering it from $6.00 to $5.00, while others maintain a "buy" rating and a target price between $4.80 and $7.00.
• Insider trading activity was noteworthy, with key insiders selling a total of 224,850 shares in the last quarter, representing a decrease in their positions.

Blend Labs, Inc. (NYSE:BLND - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $3.57, but opened at $3.15. Blend Labs shares last traded at $2.89, with a volume of 2,095,405 shares trading hands.

The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $31.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.93 million.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Blend Labs in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Blend Labs from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. 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. Wall Street Zen lowered Blend Labs from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blend Labs presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $4.86.

Insider Activity at Blend Labs

In other Blend Labs news, insider Nima Ghamsari sold 75,720 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Kneafsey sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.63, for a total transaction of $90,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 721,598 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 quarter. 35.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blend Labs

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Blend Labs by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 241,030 shares of the company's stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 37,373 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Blend Labs during the 2nd quarter worth $190,000. Mount Lucas Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Blend Labs during the 2nd quarter worth $660,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Blend Labs during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Blend Labs by 81.4% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 34,036 shares of the company's stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 15,276 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Blend Labs Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $756.91 million, a PE ratio of -19.39 and a beta of 1.24. The company's 50-day moving average price is $3.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.48.

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.