Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 77,873 Shares of MeridianLink, Inc. $MLNK

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its ownership in MeridianLink, Inc. by 2.4%, acquiring an additional 77,873 shares, now totaling approximately 4.33% of the company's stock valued at $61.96 million.
• MeridianLink's recent earnings report showed a loss of ($0.04) EPS, missing the expected $0.09, while revenue increased by 7.5% year-over-year to $84.60 million.
• Several investment firms have downgraded their ratings on MeridianLink, with a current consensus rating of "Reduce" and a target price averaging around $20.07.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of MeridianLink, Inc. (NYSE:MLNK - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,343,896 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 77,873 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 4.33% of MeridianLink worth $61,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MLNK. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of MeridianLink by 1,606.0% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,521 shares of the company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 4,256 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of MeridianLink by 39.1% during the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 9,257 shares of the company's stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MeridianLink during the fourth quarter worth approximately $201,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of MeridianLink during the fourth quarter worth approximately $219,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of MeridianLink during the fourth quarter worth approximately $231,000. Institutional investors own 82.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. William Blair cut shares of MeridianLink from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of MeridianLink from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of MeridianLink from a "strong-buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of MeridianLink from $16.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of MeridianLink from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $20.07.

MeridianLink Price Performance

Shares of MeridianLink stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $19.88. 131,105 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,386,986. The stock has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -68.53 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $17.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.51. MeridianLink, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.49 and a 12 month high of $25.33.

MeridianLink (NYSE:MLNK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $84.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.58 million. MeridianLink had a negative net margin of 6.90% and a negative return on equity of 4.50%. MeridianLink's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.04 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MeridianLink, Inc. will post -0.35 earnings per share for the current year.

MeridianLink Profile

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.