Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 775,091 Shares of Blend Labs, Inc. $BLND

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Blend Labs by 4.6%, acquiring a total of approximately 17,586,601 shares valued at about $58.9 million.
• Insider sales were significant, with Brian Kneafsey and Nima Ghamsari selling a total of 336,886 shares, indicating a decrease in their ownership by over 5% each.
• Despite missing earnings expectations, analysts have mixed ratings for Blend Labs, with a consensus price target of $4.88 and several firms maintaining buy ratings.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blend Labs, Inc. (NYSE:BLND - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,586,601 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 775,091 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 6.77% of Blend Labs worth $58,915,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blend Labs during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Blend Labs in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Blend Labs in the 1st quarter worth approximately $51,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Blend Labs in the 1st quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC purchased a new position in Blend Labs during the first quarter worth approximately $64,000. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BLND shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Blend Labs from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Blend Labs from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $5.25 target price on shares of Blend Labs in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Blend Labs in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $4.88.

Blend Labs Trading Up 1.9%

Blend Labs stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,451,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,706,675. The stock has a market capitalization of $937.11 million, a PE ratio of -24.06 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.42. 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 earnings results 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 business had revenue of $31.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.93 million. Blend Labs has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Blend Labs, Inc. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

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.