Shares in meme inventory darling Opendoor Applied sciences (Nasdaq: OPEN) are surging as soon as once more after the true property gross sales platform introduced a brand new CEO: Kaz Nejatian, the chief working officer of Shopify. Right here’s what you want to find out about Nejatian and the way buyers are reacting to the information.
What’s occurred?
Yesterday, Opendoor named the chief working officer of Shopify, Kaz Nejatian, as its new CEO. The appointment was information to many, however the truth that Opendoor was on the lookout for a brand new chief government was not.
That’s as a result of on August 15, Opendoor introduced that its then-current CEO, Carrie Wheeler, would be stepping down efficient instantly. In her place, the corporate’s chief know-how and product officer, Shrisha Radhakrishna, stepped up as interim chief because the seek for a brand new CEO commenced.
On the time, Opendoor stated, Wheeler had “made the choice to step down” from her position as CEO. Nevertheless, because the Wall Avenue Journal notes, there has been pressure from retail buyers to interchange Wheeler, particularly after the corporate’s disappointing Q2 2025 outcomes, which noticed it buy 63% fewer houses through the quarter than a yr earlier.
Opendoor makes the vast majority of its cash by shopping for houses instantly from owners, fixing them up, after which flipping them for a revenue.
However throughout its Q2 outcomes, Opendoor additionally offered guidance that spooked buyers. It stated that in its present Q3, it expects income of $800 million to $875 million. That represents a 36% decline from the income it generated in the identical quarter a yr earlier.
OPEN inventory fell almost 20% on account of these bulletins—severely limiting the features that it had made in July when it became a favorite amongst meme inventory buyers.
In a press launch asserting the seek for a brand new CEO, Wheeler stated she believed “now could be the suitable second for a management transition, and I’m assured the corporate is on a robust path ahead.” The corporate, in flip, acknowledged that its new “CEO search is properly underway.”
As of yesterday, that search has ended.
Who’s Kaz Nejatian?
Kaz Nejatian involves Opendoor from Shopify, the place he had held the position of the web buying platform’s chief working officer since 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Earlier than turning into Shopify’s COO in 2022, Nejatian was a VP of service provider companies on the firm and, previous to that, held the title of VP & GM of Shopify Cash. Earlier than Shopify, Nejatian labored at Fb as a lead undertaking supervisor for the corporate’s cost platform and billing groups.
Earlier than his positions at Massive Tech firms, Nejatian was the cofounder and CEO of Kash, a cell funds know-how firm that catered to small companies.
Kash was based in 2012 and purchased “by one of many largest fintech firms within the U.S.” in 2017, in keeping with Opendoor’s press launch. In line with PitchBook, the buying agency was undisclosed.
Saying the appointment of Nejatian as the corporate’s new CEO, Opendoor’s cofounder and chairman, Keith Rabois, stated Nejatian “is a decisive chief who has pushed product innovation at scale, ruthlessly decreased G&A bills to drive profitability and deeply understands the potential for AI to radically reshape an organization’s total operations.”
“He’s the suitable chief to unlock Opendoor’s distinctive knowledge and property as we construct on Opendoor’s authentic mission, now enhanced as an AI-first firm,” he added.
As for Nejatian, the brand new CEO stated his place at Opendoor was a privilege. “Few life occasions are as vital as shopping for or promoting a house,” he added. “With AI, we’ve the instruments to make that have radically easier, quicker, and extra sure. That’s the longer term we’re constructing.”
How have Opendoor shares reacted?
Shares in Opendoor have reacted very properly to the appointment of Nejatian as CEO.
As of the time of this writing, in premarket buying and selling this morning, OPEN shares are presently buying and selling up greater than 35% to $7.92 per share. Yesterday, OPEN shares had closed down over 4% to $5.86 per share.
The corporate’s shares at the moment are at their highest stage since 2022.
Yr-to-date, OPEN shares have surged greater than 266% as of yesterday’s shut. Nevertheless, whether or not they can preserve their current momentum in the long run will doubtless finally rely upon the corporate’s future fundamentals, fairly than any transient meme inventory hype.
