Azora Capital LP Buys Shares of 667,532 LendingClub Corporation $LC

Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in LendingClub Corporation (NYSE:LC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 667,532 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,030,000. Azora Capital LP owned about 0.58% of LendingClub as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Senvest Management LLC raised its position in shares of LendingClub by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 5,881,290 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $70,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,241 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of LendingClub by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,167,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $53,330,000 after buying an additional 1,368,057 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of LendingClub by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 3,897,322 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,220,000 after acquiring an additional 308,523 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in LendingClub by 1.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,699,141 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,476,000 after purchasing an additional 34,221 shares during the period. Finally, Long Focus Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of LendingClub by 26.4% during the first quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 2,034,725 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,998,000 after purchasing an additional 425,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew Labenne sold 20,903 shares of LendingClub stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.04, for a total value of $356,187.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 181,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,097,020. The trade was a 10.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Erin Selleck sold 2,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.47, for a total value of $46,533.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 76,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,487,060.19. This trade represents a 3.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 83,293 shares of company stock worth $1,492,620. Insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

LendingClub Stock Up 0.2%

LC stock opened at $19.17 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $17.11 and a 200-day moving average of $15.06. The firm has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.79 and a beta of 2.14. LendingClub Corporation has a 12-month low of $7.90 and a 12-month high of $19.88.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.07. LendingClub had a return on equity of 7.68% and a net margin of 10.94%.The business had revenue of $107.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 31.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that LendingClub Corporation will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

LendingClub declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on LendingClub from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of LendingClub from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research upgraded LendingClub from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of LendingClub in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised LendingClub from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.57.

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.