During December, there was a significant decrease in the number of short positions held in Blend Labs, Inc. (NYSE: BLND). The total number of shares subject to short interest was 12,320,000 as of December 15. This represents an 11.3% decrease from the total number of 13,890,000 shares that were subject to short interest as of November 30. 8.5% of the company’s shares are currently being sold on the short market at this time. The current short-interest ratio is 7.0 days, deduced from an average of 1,770,000 shares sold short daily.
Blend Labs (NYSE: BLND) divulged the most recent quarterly profits for the company on November 10, announcing it to the public. Most analysts in the relevant industry predicted that the company would earn $0.21 per share for the quarter. Still, the actual results were $0.29 per share, representing a difference of $0.08. Blend Labs had a negative return on equity of 56.67% and a negative net margin of 277.61% in their financial statements. The company announced sales for the quarter that came in at $55.35 million, significantly higher than the experts’ forecast of $51.24 million. Blend Labs is expected to incur a loss of $1.12 per share in 2018, as stated by the projections offered by research analysts.
According to reports from other news outlets, on October 18, an employee with inside knowledge of the company named Crystal Sumner sold 12,920 shares of the company’s stock. The transaction involved the purchase and sale of shares of stock at an average price of $2.11 per share, for a total value of $27,261.20. The corporate insider now directly owns 599,772 shares of the company’s stock, which have a combined value of $1,265,518.92 as a direct consequence of the transaction that took place. Information regarding the sale submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission can currently be accessed online through the SEC’s website. In related news, a company insider named Crystal Sumner sold 12,920 shares of the company’s stock on Tuesday, October 18. This information is relevant to the subject matter discussed here. The transaction involved the purchase and sale of shares of stock at an average price of $2.11 per share, for a total value of $27,261.20. The completion of the transaction has resulted in the business insider now directly owns 599,772 shares of the company’s stock. The total value of these shares is $1,265,518.92. Should you follow this link, you will be taken to the SEC filing in which the transaction was discussed in greater detail.
On top of that, company insider Nima Ghamsari sold 970,874 shares of the company’s stock on December 8. On average, one dollar and eleven cents were received for each share sold, which resulted in a total profit of one million seven hundred seventy-one dollars and fourteen cents. Disclosures that are related to the sale might be found in this section of the website. Over the most recent three months, a total of 1,876,389 shares of the company’s stock were sold by company insiders, resulting in a valuation of $2,242,295 15.57 percent of the total number of shares in the company are controlled by company insiders.
When the market opened on Monday, the price of a share of Blend Labs was $1.44 per share. During the previous year, Blend Labs’ prices ranged from a low of one dollar to a high of ten dollars and twenty-two cents. The company’s price-to-earnings ratio, which is 0.44, and its beta value, which is 0.56, are very low. The current value of its market capitalization is determined to be $324.10 million. The quick, current, and debt-to-equity ratios all equal 10.29, and the debt-to-equity ratio is 1.23. The quick ratio, current ratio, and debt-to-equity ratio all equal 10.29. The company’s moving average over the previous 50 days is $1.63, and the moving average over the previous 200 days is $2.34.
Several institutional investors have recently changed the total amount of BLND stock they hold in their portfolios. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased the amount of Blend Labs stock owned by 3,104.7% over the first three months of 2018. During the most recent quarter, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in the company’s stock by 1,719,592 shares, bringing the total number of shares that it currently owns in the business to 1,774,979, with a value of $10,117,000. The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation increased the amount of money it had previously invested in Blend Labs by $6,897,000 during the first three months of 2018. A 194.9 percent increase in BlackRock Inc.’s stake in Blend Labs was accomplished during the first three months of 2018. Following the acquisition of 774,425 shares during the most recent quarter, BlackRock Inc. now directly owns 1,169,796 shares of the company’s stock, which have a value of $6,667,000. This brings the total number of shares directly owned by BlackRock Inc. to 1,169,796. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Blend Labs by 52 percent over the first three months of 2018. After making additional purchases totaling 43,202 during the most recent fiscal quarter, Blair William & Co., IL, now has 126,251 shares of the company’s stock in its possession. The price at which these shares are trading on the market right now is $720,000. During the first three months of 2018, Vanguard Group Inc. increased the amount of Blend Labs stock owned by 1,862.4 percent. Vanguard Group Inc. now has 11,117,426 shares of the company’s stock, with a market value of $63,369,000. This is because, during the most recent fiscal quarter, the company purchased an additional 10,550,895 shares, bringing the total number of shares held by the company to 11,550,895. At this time, institutional investors and hedge funds collectively hold control over 60.42 percent of the total number of shares issued by the company.
In recent times, the share price of BLND has been the focus of commentary provided by a diverse range of market analysts. Blend Labs was given a “buy” rating by Goldman Sachs Group in a research report released on Tuesday, October 18. The firm also projected a lower price target for the company, which was set at $3.25. The report did take into consideration this recommendation. Blend Labs was moved from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report published on Sunday, November 13, by Keefe, Bruyette, and Woods.
Additionally, the firm set a price objective of $2.25 on the stock and a lower target price of $3.25. The report did take into consideration this recommendation. Blend Labs was given an upgrade by Keefe, Bruyette, and Woods in a research report published on Sunday, November 13. Blend Labs was moved from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating, and the firm also assigned a price objective of $2.25 to the stock. In addition, they suggested a price target for the company of $2.25. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Blend Labs’ stock from $3.20 to $2.40 and changed their rating on the company’s stock from “buy” to “neutral” in a research note disseminated on Friday, November 11. Both of these alterations were carried out. In a research report released on Friday, November 11, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target for Blend Labs from $3.00 to $2.50. The change was made about the company’s stock. In addition, the investment banking firm rated the company’s stock as having “equal weight” in terms of importance. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded its recommendation for Blend Labs from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report made public on Monday, November 14. Two financial analysts have given the stock a buy recommendation, while eight others have advised investors to maintain their current stock holdings. According to Bloomberg, the consensus of market analysts is that a price target of $3.68 is reasonable for the stock, which is currently rated “Hold” on average.
Update on Short Interest in Blend Labs, Inc. (NYSE:BLND)
