Opendoor - $OPEN
The comeback of OPEN, or a risky bet?
Until recently, Opendoor looked like a financial corpse.
A frozen US housing market, suffocating interest rates, and a stock that lost over 80% (!)
Eulogies were already written, and the air was filled with gloomy forecasts about the company that wanted to change the real estate world...
But then, within the silence, a rustle began to be heard...
From the silence, is a new story beginning to form?
Kaz Nejatian, the pilot who entered the cockpit to save the plane?
The company's door opens, and into it enters not another 'real estate man in a gray suit,' but a commander of an elite unit?
Kaz Nejatian, the man who grew up at Shopify and with a background from Meta, takes the CEO chair.
J.P. Morgan does not mince words and describes him as: 'The right leader for the AI era.'
His base salary? Just one dollar.
All the rest? Depends on the stock.
The message is clear: he will only profit if Opendoor takes off.
But it doesn't end here...
Not just a new CEO, the founders are also returning, pulling out their wallets and putting real money on the table.
Just when they thought the business was over, Keith Rabois and Eric Wu, the founders of $OPEN, decide to return to the company's board!
A sign of seriousness?
They not only returned to the board, they are also investing $40 million in the company from their personal pockets.
And in recent days, we caught Eric Wu (co-founder of the company and now a board member) purchasing $3 million worth of $OPEN shares in the open market!
But where do we go from here?
Pay attention to this,
Recently, Keith Rabois (one of the company's founders) was heard saying explicitly:
'Opendoor is bloated, 85% of employees are redundant!'
Efficiency, painful but necessary, but to save the plane from crashing?
Behind the harsh statement lies a hint of a new strategy:
Cutting thousands of jobs, new financial discipline, and transforming the company into a machine that can survive even when the real estate market is frozen?
And alongside the strategic moves, are the earnings also starting to turn around?
In the last quarter, Opendoor recorded positive EBITDA of $23 million, for the first time since 2022.
Net loss decreased from $92 million to $29 million.
Inventory stands at approximately $1.5 billion.
In the treasury, $789 million in cash, critical strategic oxygen.
Is the plane starting to fly in the right direction?
The vision? A bet on AI!
The next move, as analysts hint, is a strategic pivot:
A shift from 'buying homes for cash' to a 'multi-product digital real estate platform.'
J.P. Morgan believes this could turn Opendoor into the Shopify of the housing market (?)
But the risks do not disappear!
Weak revenue guidance for the next quarter, significant debt, and high dependence on a US housing market that is currently frozen.
And the question is,
Is this Opendoor's comeback moment, or just another chapter in an unending drama?
We are monitoring.