Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Stake in Blend Labs, Inc. $BLND

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Blend Labs, Inc. by 11.9%, holding 705,735 shares valued at $2.36 million after selling 94,893 shares.
• Blend Labs' recent quarterly earnings revealed a loss of ($0.03) earnings per share, below analysts' expectations, with revenue reported at $31.52 million.
• Hedge funds and institutional investors currently own 52.56% of Blend Labs' stock, indicating significant interest from larger financial entities.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Blend Labs, Inc. (NYSE:BLND - Free Report) by 11.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 705,735 shares of the company's stock after selling 94,893 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.27% of Blend Labs worth $2,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BLND. Lightspeed Management Company L.L.C. bought a new stake in Blend Labs during the 4th quarter valued at about $97,366,000. Whitebark Investors LP bought a new stake in Blend Labs during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,895,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Blend Labs by 748.2% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,203,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,067,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,621 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Blend Labs by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,203,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,277,000 after purchasing an additional 844,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Blend Labs by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,586,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,915,000 after purchasing an additional 775,091 shares in the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blend Labs Price Performance

Shares of BLND traded up $0.07 on Friday, reaching $3.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,451,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,593,579. The stock has a market capitalization of $937.11 million, a P/E ratio of -24.06 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $3.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.41. Blend Labs, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2.63 and a 12-month high of $5.53.

Blend Labs (NYSE:BLND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $31.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.93 million. Blend Labs has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that Blend Labs, Inc. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on BLND shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Blend Labs from $5.60 to $4.80 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Blend Labs from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Blend Labs in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Blend Labs from $4.00 to $3.75 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $5.25 price target on shares of Blend Labs in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $4.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian Kneafsey sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.87, for a total value of $71,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 696,598 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,999,236.26. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nima Ghamsari sold 311,886 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.90, for a total transaction of $904,469.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,754,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,686,747.90. The trade was a 5.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 561,736 shares of company stock worth $1,739,383. 35.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.