The hedge funder who sparked the rally in Opendoor stock says the CEOs departure sets the stage for a 2,000% surge this year

• Eric Jackson’s outlook for Opendoor has change into even more bullish after its CEO stepped down.

• The hedge fund founder now thinks the stock is headed for $82 by year-end, implying a practically 2,000% surge.

• The firm appears prefer it’s on the proper path to change into the “Airbnb of housing,” he told BI.

Investors cheering Opendoor’s meteoric rally have not seen something yet.

That’s according to Eric Jackson, the hedge fund supervisor whose bullish outlook for the stock this summer season kicked off a huge rally that’s been likened to a meme-stock surge. But despite the stock’s gain of more than 600% since the start of July, Jackson is adamant that Opendoor is the real deal.

Speaking with Business Insider on Monday, Jackson, best recognized for his bullish call on Carvana in 2023, said Opendoor is poised for more colossal features through the relaxation of this year. With Opendoor CEO Carrie Wheeler’s departure last week, the EMJ Capital founder said he now sees shares of the real estate iBuying company hovering to $82 by the end of the year.

That would suggest a 1,975% gain from Monday’s intraday high of $3.95 per share. Previously, Jackson’s thesis pegged the stock at that stage someday in 2028.

“I think it was the right thing to do. I thank her for her efforts over the last two and a half years,” Jackson said, including that Wheeler helped Opendoor clean up its funds after she took over in 2022, when rates of interest had been high and the company was loaded with stock it purchased in the years prior.

“But I think it was obvious. She never bought a single share,” he added.

Jackson, who called for Wheeler to step down in the days prior to her resignation, said he thinks the company has a shot at turning into what he calls the “Airbnb of housing,” a keystone on which he hangs his formidable price goal.

Here’s what Jackson said would need to occur for Opendoor to hit his loft price goal:

• Exit the iBuying space and focus on turning into an interface between patrons and sellers. That’s a market in which Opendoor has nearly no competitors, Jackson says.

  “Rocket can’t provide that. Zillow can’t provide that,” he said, including that the Airbnb-esque method to its business model could be “totally asset light,” a main focus for the company in current years.

• Get co-founders Keith Rabois and Eric Wu on the board. Rabois has never been on Opendoor’s board of administrators, and Wu, who served as CEO prior to Wheeler’s takeover, left the company at the start of 2024.

  But the two are the proper pair to head Opendoor’s search for a new CEO, in Jackson’s view. He said he believes it’s important for the company to get back to its roots.

  “I think they’re the perfect two,” Jackson said. “Those two guys, Keith and Eric, are super smart and we ensure that the founder DNA really permeates through the whole company.”

• Go worldwide. “Airbnb doesn’t just buy and sell or rent places in the US. There’s no reason Opendoor can’t go international as well,” Jackson said.

• Put Jackson on the board. Jackson said he was in serving on Opendoor’s board of administrators as effectively, to characterize the enormous retail following the company has amassed in current weeks.

  Retail trading quantity of Opendoor stock peaked at $124 million the week of July 21, around the time Jackson hashed out his thesis for the company on X, according to data from Vanda Research.

  “I just think it’s a worldwide phenomenon and people see the value here. They want to be part of it, and it would be crazy for the company not to embrace that retail love,” Jackson said.