Blend Labs (NYSE:BLND) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Blend Labs (NYSE:BLND) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Blend Labs from $4.50 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Blend Labs from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Blend Labs from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blend Labs from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of Blend Labs in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.82.

Blend Labs Price Performance

Shares of Blend Labs stock opened at $0.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.03 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1.30 and a 200 day moving average of $1.54. Blend Labs has a 12 month low of $0.88 and a 12 month high of $3.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Srinivasan Venkatramani sold 74,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.43, for a total transaction of $106,828.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 236,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $338,285.09. The trade was a 24.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Nima Ghamsari sold 21,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.19, for a total transaction of $25,000.71. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,850,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,341,929.59. This trade represents a 0.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 167,607 shares of company stock worth $205,707. Insiders own 40.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blend Labs

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLND. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Blend Labs in the first quarter worth $11,049,000. Irenic Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Blend Labs by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Irenic Capital Management LP now owns 2,284,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,906,000 after purchasing an additional 79,901 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Blend Labs by 14.0% during the first quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 1,006,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,711,000 after buying an additional 123,699 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Blend Labs by 6.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 340,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $579,000 after buying an additional 21,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Blend Labs by 99.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 258,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $440,000 after acquiring an additional 128,677 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

About Blend Labs

Blend Labs, Inc is a financial technology company that provides cloud-based software to banks, credit unions and other financial institutions. Its platform is designed to digitize and streamline the process of applying for, underwriting and closing financial products, helping institutions deliver more consistent experiences across digital and physical channels.

The company’s solutions support a range of lending and banking activities, including consumer deposit accounts, mortgages, home equity loans, personal loans, auto loans and credit cards.