MeridianLink (NYSE:MLNK) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

MeridianLink, Inc. (NYSE:MLNK - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $18.43, but opened at $19.50. MeridianLink shares last traded at $20.55, with a volume of 41,602 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on MLNK shares. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of MeridianLink in a report on Friday. Bank of America lowered MeridianLink from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $28.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lowered their target price on MeridianLink from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. UBS Group cut their price target on MeridianLink from $25.50 to $20.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on MeridianLink from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.58.

MeridianLink Price Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $19.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of -29.44 and a beta of 1.01.

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Insider Transactions at MeridianLink

In other news, CEO Nicolaas Vlok sold 71,598 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.17, for a total transaction of $1,515,729.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,043,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,088,396.94. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 100,845 shares of company stock worth $2,182,567 over the last quarter. 21.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MeridianLink

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MLNK. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in MeridianLink during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,461,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MeridianLink during the 3rd quarter valued at $8,598,000. Western Standard LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MeridianLink during the 4th quarter worth $7,223,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of MeridianLink by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,266,023 shares of the company's stock worth $67,443,000 after buying an additional 310,228 shares during the period. Finally, Maven Securities LTD acquired a new position in MeridianLink in the third quarter valued at $5,377,000. 82.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.