LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of LendingClub in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on LendingClub from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Zacks Research upgraded LendingClub from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott upped their price objective on shares of LendingClub from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LendingClub in a research note on Monday, December 29th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

LendingClub Trading Up 2.7%

LC opened at $15.61 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.51. LendingClub has a 1-year low of $7.90 and a 1-year high of $21.67. The company has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 2.08.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. LendingClub had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The business had revenue of $266.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $262.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. LendingClub has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.650-1.800 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.390 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that LendingClub will post 0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LendingClub declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Erin Selleck sold 2,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LendingClub

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in LendingClub by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 10,232 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of LendingClub by 3.5% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 23,482 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of LendingClub by 8.8% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 13,354 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in LendingClub by 46.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,051 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in LendingClub by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 25,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. 74.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.