LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

LendingClub Co. (NYSE:LC) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $16.64, but opened at $16.15. LendingClub shares last traded at $15.68, with a volume of 578,745 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on LC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of LendingClub from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $11.50 to $15.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 target price (up previously from $14.00) on shares of LendingClub in a report on Monday. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of LendingClub from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $15.00 target price (up previously from $13.00) on shares of LendingClub in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of LendingClub from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.75.

LendingClub Stock Down 6.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 34.09 and a beta of 2.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.23.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $190.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.05 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that LendingClub Co. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other LendingClub news, Director John C. Morris sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.36, for a total value of $35,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 203,348 shares in the company, valued at $2,920,077.28. This represents a 1.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jordan Cheng sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.83, for a total transaction of $326,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 89,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,325,579.55. The trade was a 19.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 75,500 shares of company stock valued at $996,940 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingClub

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of LendingClub by 5.3% during the second quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 19,900 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of LendingClub by 32.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,865 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of LendingClub by 0.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 302,844 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,562,000 after acquiring an additional 1,445 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of LendingClub by 16.3% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,344 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of LendingClub during the third quarter worth $32,000. 74.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.