LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

LendingClub Corporation (NYSE:LC) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $21.40 and last traded at $21.5390, with a volume of 279799 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LendingClub in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective (up previously from $18.00) on shares of LendingClub in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded LendingClub from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott lifted their target price on shares of LendingClub from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.57.

LendingClub Stock Up 4.9%

The stock has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51 and a beta of 2.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.92.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $107.79 million during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that LendingClub Corporation will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

LendingClub declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at LendingClub

In related news, Director Erin Selleck sold 2,390 shares of the business’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 sale, the director directly owned 76,377 shares in the company, valued at $1,487,060.19. The trade was a 3.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LendingClub

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lido Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in LendingClub in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,202,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of LendingClub by 24.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 746,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,984,000 after buying an additional 144,873 shares during the period. Capital Fund Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of LendingClub by 183.9% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 213,008 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,562,000 after buying an additional 137,972 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of LendingClub by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 46,771 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 7,431 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in LendingClub by 106.6% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 429,350 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,165,000 after acquiring an additional 221,581 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.08% of the company’s stock.

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.