LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Trading 7.3% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

LendingClub Co. (NYSE:LC) shares shot up 7.3% during 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 traded hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 775,383 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.13.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LendingClub news, Director John C. Morris sold 2,500 shares of LendingClub stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.36, for a total transaction 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. The trade was 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.12, for a total value of $274,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,312,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,152,406.08. This represents a 1.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,158,610 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in LendingClub by 98.1% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,547,342 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,686,000 after acquiring an additional 766,287 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of LendingClub by 24.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,658,679 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $14,032,000 after acquiring an additional 329,279 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of LendingClub by 5.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,898,545 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $49,901,000 after purchasing an additional 300,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of LendingClub in the second quarter worth $2,412,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.08% of the company’s stock.

LendingClub Stock Up 8.6 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $15.84 and its 200 day moving average is $12.53. The firm has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.07 and a beta of 2.02.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.06. LendingClub had a return on equity of 4.02% and a net margin of 6.85%. The company had revenue of $201.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.05 EPS. LendingClub’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LendingClub Co. will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About LendingClub

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.