What happened
Mirroring the resilient U.S. housing market it's deeply invested in, Redfin (RDFN -0.01%) stock pushed higher in trading this week. Over the course of the five market days, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, the online real estate portal operator's share price rose by nearly 13%.
So what
The immediate catalyst actually occurred toward the end of last week when Redfin released its first-quarter earnings report. Although the company's revenue fell steeply on a year-over-year basis, it still trounced analyst projections. Ditto for its net loss according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) standards, which was far narrower than those pundits had anticipated.
The following week, two of those pundits got notably more bullish on Redfin's stock. One was Oppenheimer's Jason Helfstein, who raised his price target to $8.50 per share from his previous $7.00. Stephens' John Campbell, meanwhile, made a more modest increase, bumping his level higher to $11 for a $0.50 raise.
It should be noted that while both prognosticators see more potential in Redfin stock, neither are enthusiasts of the real estate company. Helfstein maintained his underperform (sell, in other words) recommendation, and Stephens also stayed pat with his equal weight (neutral) assessment.
Now what
Another influence on Redfin's stock was an encouraging report the company published Thursday from its in-house researchers. According to the report's findings, despite higher interest rates (which drive the cost of mortgages higher), mortgage-purchase applications actually rose in the four weeks ending May 7 at a 5% clip.
Commenting on this and other dynamics, Redfin wrote that currently "The pool of buyers is small but determined, with nearly half of the homes that do sell doing so within two weeks. That share has increased over the last month, which isn't typical for this time of year."
