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

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 365,300 shares, a decline of 23.3% from the February 28th total of 476,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 258,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on TREE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of LendingTree from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of LendingTree in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Northland Securities upgraded LendingTree from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on LendingTree from $78.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of LendingTree from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $65.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at LendingTree

In related news, COO Scott Peyree purchased 21,045 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $41.69 per share, with a total value of $877,366.05. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 76,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,124.40. This trade represents a 37.77 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 101.5% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 2,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of LendingTree in the 4th quarter valued at $298,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in LendingTree in the 4th quarter worth about $899,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in LendingTree during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,045,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in LendingTree by 301.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 21,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after buying an additional 16,077 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.26% of the company’s stock.

LendingTree Stock Performance

Shares of TREE opened at $50.67 on Tuesday. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $45.88 and its 200-day moving average is $47.05. LendingTree has a 12-month low of $33.58 and a 12-month high of $62.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $678.71 million, a P/E ratio of -18.68 and a beta of 2.14.

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.