LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of LendingClub (NYSE:LC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of LendingClub from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on LendingClub from $10.00 to $11.50 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on LendingClub from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on LendingClub in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a buy rating and a $12.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating and issued a $13.00 price objective (up previously from $10.00) on shares of LendingClub in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $12.64.

LendingClub Stock Performance

Shares of LC stock opened at $10.64 on Thursday. LendingClub has a fifty-two week low of $4.73 and a fifty-two week high of $12.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.29 and a beta of 2.06. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.74.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.09. LendingClub had a return on equity of 3.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm had revenue of $187.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.09 earnings per share. LendingClub’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that LendingClub will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Erin Selleck sold 4,083 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.88, for a total transaction of $36,257.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 54,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $484,590.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingClub

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LendingClub by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,446,014 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $100,610,000 after acquiring an additional 175,706 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Square Partners LLC lifted its holdings in LendingClub by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Square Partners LLC now owns 9,723,943 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $84,987,000 after purchasing an additional 541,538 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in LendingClub by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,652,580 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,664,000 after purchasing an additional 73,515 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of LendingClub by 176.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,344,295 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,749,000 after buying an additional 857,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of LendingClub by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 848,315 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,414,000 after buying an additional 16,298 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.08% of the company’s stock.

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.