LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

LendingClub Co. (NYSE:LC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $17.15 and last traded at $16.70, with a volume of 158093 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of LendingClub from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut LendingClub from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Compass Point raised their price objective on LendingClub from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Maxim Group boosted their target price on LendingClub from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on LendingClub from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.38.

LendingClub Stock Up 0.9 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $13.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a PE ratio of 36.17 and a beta of 2.01.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.06. LendingClub had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 4.02%. The company had revenue of $201.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.05 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that LendingClub Co. will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at LendingClub

In other news, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.89, for a total transaction of $253,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,339,273 shares in the company, valued at $19,941,774.97. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jordan Cheng sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.83, for a total transaction of $326,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 89,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,325,579.55. This represents a 19.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,500 shares of company stock valued at $996,940. Insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LendingClub

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LC. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in LendingClub in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of LendingClub by 32.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,865 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,424 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of LendingClub during the 2nd quarter worth $71,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in LendingClub in the 2nd quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in LendingClub by 259.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,267 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 5,247 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.