Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Grows Position in MeridianLink, Inc. $MLNK

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in MeridianLink by 72.2%, acquiring an additional 134,146 shares, bringing its total ownership to 320,012 shares worth approximately $5.93 million.
• Multiple analysts have downgraded MeridianLink's stock ratings recently, with Raymond James and BTIG Research changing their ratings to "hold" and "neutral," respectively, which reflects growing caution among investors.
• MeridianLink reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.04), missing estimates by $0.13, despite achieving a revenue increase of 7.5% year-over-year, indicating some underlying operational challenges.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MeridianLink, Inc. (NYSE:MLNK - Free Report) by 72.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 320,012 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 134,146 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.41% of MeridianLink worth $5,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MeridianLink by 2.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,343,896 shares of the company's stock worth $61,962,000 after buying an additional 77,873 shares during the period. Park West Asset Management LLC raised its position in MeridianLink by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC now owns 2,599,087 shares of the company's stock worth $48,161,000 after buying an additional 227,969 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MeridianLink by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,824,395 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,806,000 after acquiring an additional 397,730 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of MeridianLink by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 516,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,571,000 after acquiring an additional 35,692 shares during the period. Finally, Western Standard LLC bought a new position in shares of MeridianLink during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,223,000. 82.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MLNK. Raymond James Financial downgraded MeridianLink from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. William Blair downgraded MeridianLink from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. BTIG Research downgraded MeridianLink from a "strong-buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on MeridianLink from $16.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $20.07.

MeridianLink Price Performance

Shares of MeridianLink stock traded up $0.01 on Friday, reaching $19.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,821,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 354,595. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -68.86 and a beta of 0.93. MeridianLink, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.49 and a 52-week high of $25.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

MeridianLink (NYSE:MLNK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $84.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.58 million. MeridianLink had a negative net margin of 6.90% and a negative return on equity of 4.50%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.04 earnings per share. Analysts expect that MeridianLink, Inc. will post -0.35 EPS for the current year.

About MeridianLink

MeridianLink, Inc, a software and services company, provides software solutions for banks, credit unions, mortgage lenders, specialty lending providers, and consumer reporting agencies in the United States. The company offers MeridianLink One, a multi-product platform that can be tailored to meet the needs of customers as they digitally transform their organizations and adapt to changing business and consumer demands; MeridianLink Portal, a Point of Sale system that allows financial institutions to expand existing lending and deposit account; MeridianLink Opening, a cloud-based online account opening and deposit software solution; MeridianLink Consumer, a full loan solution suite to banks and credit unions; and MeridianLink DecisionLender, a loan origination software (LOS) for finance companies.