MeridianLink (NYSE:MLNK) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• MeridianLink shares experienced a significant increase in trading volume, up by 280%, after Barclays raised its price target from $16.00 to $20.00, despite maintaining an underweight rating.
• Analyst ratings for MeridianLink have been mixed, with reports from several firms lowering their ratings and price targets, leading to an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.07.
• The company's most recent earnings report indicated a miss on earnings per share, with a quarterly revenue increase of 7.5%, demonstrating a negative net margin of 6.90% and a negative return on equity of 4.41%.

Shares of MeridianLink, Inc. (NYSE:MLNK - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $16.00 to $20.00. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the stock. Approximately 1,478,344 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 280% from the previous session's volume of 389,130 shares.The stock last traded at $19.77 and had previously closed at $19.78.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on MLNK. BTIG Research cut MeridianLink from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial lowered MeridianLink from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. William Blair downgraded MeridianLink from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on MeridianLink from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.07.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MeridianLink

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in MeridianLink by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MeridianLink by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MeridianLink by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,070 shares of the company's stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in MeridianLink by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 18,928 shares of the company's stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in MeridianLink by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 30,905 shares of the company's stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.65% of the company's stock.

MeridianLink Price Performance

The business's fifty day moving average price is $16.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.45. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -68.28 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick 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) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $84.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.58 million. MeridianLink had a negative net margin of 6.90% and a negative return on equity of 4.50%. The company's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.04 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MeridianLink, Inc. will post -0.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.