LendingClub Corporation (NYSE:LC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

LendingClub Corporation (NYSE:LC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.5714.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LC shares. Zacks Research raised shares of LendingClub from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Citizens Jmp raised LendingClub from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LendingClub in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on LendingClub from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott raised their price target on LendingClub from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LendingClub news, Director Erin Selleck sold 2,390 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.29, for a total transaction of $578,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,210,070 shares in the company, valued at $23,342,250.30. This trade represents a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingClub

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Azora Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of LendingClub by 258.2% in the 3rd quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 2,391,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723,658 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of LendingClub by 184.1% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,121,802 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,230,000 after buying an additional 1,375,002 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in LendingClub by 36.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,167,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $53,330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,368,057 shares during the period. Senvest Management LLC grew its stake in shares of LendingClub by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 5,881,290 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $70,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,241 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of LendingClub by 1,232.2% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 735,821 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,177,000 after purchasing an additional 680,589 shares during the period. 74.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LendingClub Stock Performance

Shares of LendingClub stock opened at $19.58 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.58. LendingClub has a one year low of $7.90 and a one year high of $20.94.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $107.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.27 million. LendingClub had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 7.68%. The company’s revenue was up 31.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that LendingClub will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LendingClub announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About LendingClub

LendingClub Corporation operates an online lending marketplace that connects borrowers seeking personal and small business credit with individual and institutional investors. The platform leverages technology to streamline the loan application and underwriting process, offering unsecured personal loans, auto refinancing, and small business loans. In addition to lending products, LendingClub provides high-yield savings accounts and certificates of deposit through its banking charter, following its acquisition of Radius Bank in 2021.

Founded in 2006 by Renaud Laplanche, LendingClub pioneered peer-to-peer lending in the United States, helping to democratize access to credit and investment opportunities.