LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Price Target Raised to $26.00

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at BTIG Research from $18.00 to $26.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 35.84% from the stock’s current price.

LC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised LendingClub from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $17.00 to $22.00 in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LendingClub in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised LendingClub from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on LendingClub from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised LendingClub from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.60.

LendingClub Stock Up 7.8%

LC stock opened at $19.14 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $16.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.79. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75 and a beta of 2.51. LendingClub has a fifty-two week low of $7.90 and a fifty-two week high of $19.88.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $266.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.27 million. LendingClub had a return on equity of 7.68% and a net margin of 10.94%.The firm’s revenue was up 31.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that LendingClub will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

LendingClub declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Erin Selleck sold 2,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.82, for a total transaction of $40,199.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 73,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,244,461.34. This represents a 3.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.65, for a total value of $499,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,270,070 shares in the company, valued at $21,146,665.50. This trade represents a 2.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,293 shares of company stock worth $1,985,787. 3.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LendingClub

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LC. Senvest Management LLC raised its position in shares of LendingClub by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 5,881,290 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $70,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,241 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of LendingClub by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,167,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $53,330,000 after buying an additional 1,368,057 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LendingClub by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 3,897,322 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,220,000 after buying an additional 308,523 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LendingClub by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,699,141 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,476,000 after buying an additional 34,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of LendingClub by 184.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,121,802 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,230,000 after buying an additional 1,375,002 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.08% of the company’s stock.

LendingClub Company Profile

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.