LendingClub Co. (NYSE:LC) Short Interest Up 7.6% in December

LendingClub Co. (NYSE:LC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,690,000 shares, a growth 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 short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Maxim Group upped their price objective on shares of LendingClub from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com lowered LendingClub from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Compass Point lifted their price target on LendingClub from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 price objective (up previously from $14.00) on shares of LendingClub in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of LendingClub from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LendingClub has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.63.

Insider Activity at LendingClub

In related news, Director John C. Morris sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.36, for a total transaction of $35,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 203,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,920,077.28. The trade was a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 17,000 shares of LendingClub stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.12, for a total value of $274,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,312,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,152,406.08. The trade was a 1.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 75,500 shares of company stock worth $1,158,610. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LendingClub

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of LendingClub by 120.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,517,986 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,351,000 after purchasing an additional 828,958 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in LendingClub by 98.1% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,547,342 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,686,000 after buying an additional 766,287 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in LendingClub by 24.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,658,679 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $14,032,000 after acquiring an additional 329,279 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of 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. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of LendingClub in the 2nd quarter worth $2,412,000. Institutional investors own 74.08% of the company’s stock.

LendingClub Price Performance

LC stock traded up $0.35 during trading on Monday, hitting $16.68. 755,411 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,737,184. The stock has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25 and a beta of 2.03. LendingClub has a 1 year low of $7.48 and a 1 year high of $18.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $16.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.13.

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