LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Short Interest Down 42.0% in December

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 678,300 shares, a decrease of 42.0% from the December 15th total of 1,170,000 shares. Currently, 6.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 312,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Insider Activity at LendingTree

In other news, CTO Scott V. Totman bought 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.59 per share, for a total transaction of $144,712.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,192 shares in the company, valued at $702,029.28. This represents a 25.97 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Douglas R. Lebda purchased 13,000 shares of LendingTree stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.72 per share, with a total value of $516,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,599 shares in the company, valued at $4,829,912.28. This represents a 11.97 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC bought a new stake in shares of LendingTree during the third quarter worth about $3,651,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of LendingTree by 25.0% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 292,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,182,000 after buying an additional 58,500 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC grew its position in shares of LendingTree by 118.0% during the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 7,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 50,910 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in LendingTree during the third quarter worth about $1,612,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in LendingTree during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,045,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.26% of the company’s stock.

LendingTree Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TREE opened at $36.76 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. The stock has a market cap of $491.19 million, a PE ratio of -13.61 and a beta of 2.06. LendingTree has a 12-month low of $24.55 and a 12-month high of $62.49. The business has a 50 day moving average of $42.02 and a 200-day moving average of $48.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on TREE shares. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of LendingTree from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of LendingTree from $67.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of LendingTree from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of LendingTree from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on LendingTree from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.