LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Trading Up 7.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

LendingClub Co. (NYSE:LC)’s share price traded up 7.3% during mid-day trading on Friday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $15.00 to $20.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. LendingClub traded as high as $17.32 and last traded at $17.30. 402,099 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 775,383 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.13.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 price target (up previously from $14.00) on shares of LendingClub in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on LendingClub from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush lifted their price target on LendingClub from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded LendingClub from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their target price on shares of LendingClub from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LendingClub presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John C. Morris sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.36, for a total value of $35,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 203,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,920,077.28. This represents a 1.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.89, for a total value of $253,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,339,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,941,774.97. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,500 shares of company stock valued at $884,570 in the last three months. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingClub

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of LendingClub by 120.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,517,986 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,351,000 after purchasing an additional 828,958 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of LendingClub by 98.1% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,547,342 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,686,000 after acquiring an additional 766,287 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in LendingClub by 24.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,658,679 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,032,000 after purchasing an additional 329,279 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in LendingClub by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,898,545 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $49,901,000 after purchasing an additional 300,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in LendingClub during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,412,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.08% of the company’s stock.

LendingClub Trading Up 6.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of 37.24 and a beta of 2.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $15.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.46.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.06. LendingClub had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 4.02%. The company had revenue of $201.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.05 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that LendingClub Co. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LendingClub Company Profile

LendingClub Corporation, operates as a bank holding company, that provides range of financial products and services in the United States. It offers deposit products, including savings accounts, checking accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides loan products, such as consumer loans comprising unsecured personal loans, secured auto refinance loans, and patient and education finance loans; and commercial loans, including small business loans.