Opendoor Technologies CEO Resigns, Stock Rises
(Bloomberg) – Opendoor Technologies Inc., a real estate company that has gained attention as a popular meme stock recently, announced that CEO Carrie Wheeler will be resigning soon, causing its stock to soar.
Shrisha Radhakrishna has been named president and interim leader of Opendoor, as stated in a release on Friday.
On Friday, Opendoor’s shares jumped 16% initially before settling down a bit. By 11:36 AM in New York, the stock had increased approximately 9%, reaching $3.32.
Wheeler had approached the board earlier this year to initiate a succession planning process. The company has engaged Spencer Stuart for assistance in the search, which is reportedly progressing well.
Opendoor is well-known for its software-driven model of buying homes. This approach has become tighter since mid-2022 as interest rates started to climb.
A significant drop in stock prices had put the company at risk of being delisted. However, last month, Eric Jackson, a hedge fund manager from Canada, made several online posts championing the stock, which helped boost its value.
Jackson, who had been critical of Wheeler, mentioned in an interview with Bloomberg that co-founders Keith Labois and Eric Wu should rejoin the board. He emphasized that new leadership needs to drive the company towards more artificial intelligence integration.
“It’s evident to anyone following stocks that they need to make significant strides in AI and develop a truly national and international real estate platform,” Jackson stated.
Recently, Wall Street analysts have expressed skepticism about Opendoor, with KBW downgrading the stock from neutral to sell earlier this week, citing uncertainties surrounding management’s strategy shift. Citigroup also downgraded its rating from neutral to sell last week.
Among the 11 Wall Street analysts tracking Opendoor, one recommends buying, five suggest holding, while five advocate selling.
Traders are pushing up share prices in Friday’s trading, although Opendoor’s stocks remain substantially lower than the record high of $34.59 reached in 2021.
