Short Interest in LendingClub Co. (NYSE:LC) Rises By 7.6%

LendingClub Co. (NYSE:LC) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,690,000 shares, an increase of 7.6% from the December 15th total of 4,360,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,920,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Insider Activity at LendingClub

In other LendingClub news, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.89, for a total transaction of $253,130.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,339,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,941,774.97. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Jordan Cheng sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.83, for a total value of $326,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 89,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,325,579.55. This trade represents a 19.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 75,500 shares of company stock worth $1,158,610. 3.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingClub

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of LendingClub in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of LendingClub by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,865 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LendingClub by 259.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,267 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 5,247 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of LendingClub during the third quarter valued at approximately $170,000. Finally, Princeton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in LendingClub during the third quarter valued at approximately $171,000. 74.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of LendingClub from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of LendingClub from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on LendingClub from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on LendingClub from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Compass Point lifted their price objective on LendingClub from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.63.

LendingClub Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LC traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $16.68. 755,411 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,737,184. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $16.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.13. LendingClub has a 1 year low of $7.48 and a 1 year high of $18.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.25 and a beta of 2.03.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.06. LendingClub had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 4.02%. The firm had revenue of $201.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that LendingClub will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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.