NEW YORK, Jan 8, 2026, 18:11 EST
- Opendoor shares rose about 4%-5% after the company’s CEO said it is not a large institutional homebuyer.
- Trump said he is taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, unsettling housing-related stocks.
- Bullish commentary points to easing mortgage pressure and operational changes, but several valuation models and analyst targets still sit below the current share price.
Opendoor Technologies shares rose Thursday after CEO Kaz Nejatian dismissed worries from investors over President Donald Trump’s plan to crack down on large institutional homebuyers. “We’re not institutional investors … We don’t hold the homes!” Nejatian insisted. Tradingview
The rebound is significant because Trump’s housing message has already started shifting investments within the sector, even though Washington has provided few details. Trump said he was “immediately taking steps” to stop large institutions from buying more single-family homes and called on Congress to make the ban official, adding: “People live in homes, not corporations.” Cbsnews
Opendoor’s business model is unlike a landlord’s. It works as an “iBuyer” — short for instant buyer — quickly making cash offers on homes and then flipping them. This approach puts it at the mercy of home-price swings and the cost of funding, but it doesn’t rely on holding properties as rentals over the long haul.
Still, traders saw Trump’s post as a sweeping warning aimed at housing finance. Shares of single-family rental landlords Invitation Homes plunged over 7%, while American Homes 4 Rent dropped 6.3% immediately after the announcement. Blackstone also slipped more than 4%, CBS News reported. TD Cowen analyst Jaret Seiberg said the move “appeals to MAGA populists,” adding its timing signals the administration is “worried” about housing affordability as midterm politics loom.
What Trump means by “large institutional investors” isn’t exactly clear, and that vagueness feeds into the market’s troubles. Real Estate News pointed to data showing 32 institutional investors owned 446,000 single-family homes in 2021. They noted that “mega-investors” with over 1,000 homes controlled just 2.1% of investor-owned properties. Meanwhile, smaller corporate buyers accounted for a much bigger slice of ownership in certain areas. Realestatenews
The chatter around policy shifts arrives as fresh bullish sentiment circles Opendoor, whose shares have bounced wildly with changes in housing rates. A Motley Fool article suggested the stock might multiply if mortgage pressures ease and sales pick up, highlighting Wall Street forecasts that see revenue rising in 2026 and 2027 after a slump in 2025. Meanwhile, Opendoor is shaking up its leadership: it brought in Lucas Matheson, previously CEO of Coinbase Canada, as president, and promoted Christy Schwartz to CFO starting Jan. 1, per a company statement. Theglobeandmail Fool
Other takes on valuation don’t look so kind. A Yahoo Finance article referencing Simply Wall St’s analysis pegged Opendoor’s “fair value” at $2.99 a share. It pointed out that even as some analyst price targets climbed, the model’s assumptions barely budged. This underscored the disconnect between the stock’s recent surge and the more cautious outlooks. Yahoo
MarketBeat’s tracker, refreshed Thursday, showed an average analyst price target of $2.55 for Opendoor along with a “Strong Sell” consensus from five analysts. The next earnings report is expected on Feb. 26. Marketbeat
But the story could flip. If Trump’s plan ends up broad — or if it sparks tougher rules that clamp down on both home flippers and landlords — the focus might swing back to Opendoor. The company, known for its low-margin, capital-heavy approach, has seen wild share swings; StockStory noted 108 jumps of more than 5% over the last year.
