Citizens Jmp Upgrades Blend Labs (NYSE:BLND) to Strong-Buy

Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Blend Labs (NYSE:BLND) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on BLND. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Blend Labs from $3.40 to $3.90 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Blend Labs from $4.50 to $6.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. JMP Securities began coverage on shares of Blend Labs in a report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Blend Labs from $4.75 to $5.75 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Blend Labs from $3.25 to $3.85 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.11.

Blend Labs Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of BLND traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 229,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,366,063. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.65 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50-day moving average is $4.41 and its 200-day moving average is $3.59. Blend Labs has a 52-week low of $2.08 and a 52-week high of $5.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy J. Mayopoulos sold 42,721 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $213,605.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 387,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,938,100. This trade represents a 9.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Winnie Ling sold 20,000 shares of Blend Labs stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.43, for a total value of $68,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 259,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $888,949.67. The trade was a 7.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 211,838 shares of company stock worth $1,050,644 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blend Labs

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLND. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Blend Labs by 3,799.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 654,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,546,000 after buying an additional 638,102 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Blend Labs in the second quarter valued at $809,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Blend Labs by 4,370.6% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 273,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 267,307 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blend Labs by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 780,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 62,000 shares during the period. Finally, ClariVest Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Blend Labs by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 252,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 6,988 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.