Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 5,627,512 shares, a decrease of 12.8% from the January 15th total of 6,455,398 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,880,369 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,880,369 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BXSL opened at $24.57 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $26.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.24. The stock has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 0.41. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a one year low of $24.03 and a one year high of $34.64.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 112.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,149,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,597,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721,843 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 112.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,731,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,576,000 after buying an additional 2,504,617 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 11.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,820,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,476,000 after acquiring an additional 832,179 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 1,160.9% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 869,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,680,000 after acquiring an additional 800,969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empyrean Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,142,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $32.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lowered their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.13.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Company Profile

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE: BXSL) is a closed-end management investment company sponsored by Blackstone Credit, the credit-oriented business of Blackstone Inc Launched in May 2020, BXSL seeks to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns primarily through current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation. The fund raises capital from institutional and retail investors and deploys it into a diversified portfolio of senior secured loans and other credit instruments.

The fund’s principal investment focus is on first-lien senior secured loans and unitranche debt extended to middle-market companies across North America.