LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

LendingClub Co. (NYSE:LC) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after Wedbush raised their price target on the stock from $14.00 to $17.00. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the stock. LendingClub traded as high as $14.62 and last traded at $14.47, with a volume of 351326 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.46.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on LC. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective (up previously from $13.00) on shares of LendingClub in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of LendingClub from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised LendingClub from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $11.50 to $15.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Compass Point upped their target price on LendingClub from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised LendingClub from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LendingClub news, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.36, for a total value of $193,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,373,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,600,381.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 51,703 shares of company stock valued at $562,705 over the last three months. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LendingClub

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in LendingClub by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,446,014 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $100,610,000 after purchasing an additional 175,706 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 300,536 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in LendingClub by 24.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 329,279 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position 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 last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of LendingClub by 176.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,344,295 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,749,000 after purchasing an additional 857,371 shares during the period. 74.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LendingClub Trading Up 19.0 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.96. The firm has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.62 and a beta of 2.04.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $187.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.03 million. LendingClub had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LendingClub Co. will post 0.38 EPS for the current 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.