02:05 PM EDT, 09/11/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Opendoor Technologies' ( OPEN ) shares surged on Thursday after the company appointed Shopify ( SHOP ) Chief Operating Officer Kasra Nejatian to join the real-estate tech platform as chief executive.

The companies separately announced the move late Wednesday.

At Opendoor ( OPEN ), Nejatian succeeds Carrie Wheeler, who stepped down as CEO last month. Shopify ( SHOP ) said in a regulatory filing that Nejatian's last day at the company will be on Friday.

Shares of Opendoor ( OPEN ) soared 68% in Thursday afternoon trading. The meme stock has surged more than 500% so far this year amid its popularity on social media.

Shopify's ( SHOP ) shares rose 2.8% intraday.

Opendoor ( OPEN ) co-founders, Keith Rabois and Eric Wu, rejoined the company's board, with Rabois taking on the chairman role, according to the announcement.

Nejatian "deeply understands the potential for (artificial intelligence) to radically reshape a company's entire operations," Rabois said in a statement. "He is the right leader to unlock Opendoor's ( OPEN ) unique data and assets as we build on Opendoor's ( OPEN ) original mission, now enhanced as an AI-first company."

Opendoor ( OPEN ) has recently seen a string of losses while navigating a challenging housing market. In early August, the company reported a second-quarter net loss of $0.04 per share even as revenue grew 4% year over year to $1.57 billion.

"The housing market has further deteriorated over the course of the last quarter," Opendoor ( OPEN ) Chief Financial Officer Selim Freiha said during last month's earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript. "Persistently high mortgage rates continue to suppress buyer demand, leading to lower clearance and record new listings."

Shopify ( SHOP ) said that the executive team will assume Nejatian's responsibilities.

Price: 9.69, Change: +3.83, Percent Change: +65.36