LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

LC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on LendingClub from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on LendingClub from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on LendingClub in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.13.

LendingClub Trading Down 4.8%

Shares of LC opened at $10.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26 and a beta of 2.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.73. LendingClub has a 12-month low of $7.81 and a 12-month high of $18.75.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10. LendingClub had a return on equity of 4.16% and a net margin of 6.52%. The business had revenue of $217.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $213.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21670.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that LendingClub will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael P. Zeisser acquired 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.35 per share, for a total transaction of $187,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 174,138 shares in the company, valued at $1,628,190.30. This trade represents a 12.98% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 5,250 shares of LendingClub stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.34, for a total value of $54,285.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,297,782 shares in the company, valued at $13,419,065.88. This represents a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,250 shares of company stock valued at $269,273. 3.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LC. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of LendingClub by 1,427.2% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,810 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 2,626 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in shares of LendingClub in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in LendingClub during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of LendingClub in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of LendingClub by 818.6% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 3,119 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.