LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Short Interest Update

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) saw a large growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 315,600 shares, a growth of 55.5% from the October 15th total of 202,900 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 218,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Heather Enlow-Novitsky sold 564 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.54, for a total value of $29,632.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 23.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LendingTree

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of LendingTree by 697.5% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 12,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $535,000 after buying an additional 11,049 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust increased its position in shares of LendingTree by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 280,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,676,000 after purchasing an additional 23,995 shares during the last quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new stake in LendingTree during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,651,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in LendingTree by 6.6% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 364,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,419,000 after buying an additional 22,581 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of LendingTree by 53.9% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 256,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,868,000 after acquiring an additional 89,900 shares during the period. 68.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LendingTree Price Performance

Shares of TREE stock traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $49.28. The company had a trading volume of 35,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 237,306. The company has a market capitalization of $658.48 million, a P/E ratio of -18.45 and a beta of 2.11. LendingTree has a 52-week low of $15.10 and a 52-week high of $62.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $55.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TREE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of LendingTree from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on LendingTree from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on LendingTree from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on LendingTree from $67.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Northland Securities increased their target price on shares of LendingTree from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

About LendingTree

LendingTree, Inc, through its subsidiary, operates online consumer platform in the United States. It operates through three segments: Home, Consumer, and Insurance. The Home segment offers purchase mortgage, refinance mortgage, and home equity loans and lines of credit; and real estate brokerage services.