LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Short Interest Up 20.3% in November

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,020,000 shares, an increase of 20.3% from the November 15th total of 848,200 shares. Currently, 9.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 281,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut LendingTree from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of LendingTree from $67.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of LendingTree from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of LendingTree from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of LendingTree from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.00.

LendingTree Stock Performance

TREE opened at $39.80 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $531.73 million, a P/E ratio of -14.74 and a beta of 2.03. LendingTree has a 1-year low of $24.55 and a 1-year high of $62.49.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Heather Enlow-Novitsky sold 564 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.54, for a total transaction of $29,632.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Scott V. Totman bought 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $38.59 per share, for a total transaction of $144,712.50. Following the acquisition, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,029.28. The trade was a 25.97 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new stake in LendingTree in the 3rd quarter worth $3,651,000. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust grew its position in shares of LendingTree by 9.3% during the second quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 280,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,676,000 after purchasing an additional 23,995 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in LendingTree during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,612,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in LendingTree in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,045,000. Finally, ClariVest Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in LendingTree in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,360,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.26% of the company’s stock.

LendingTree Company Profile

LendingTree, Inc, through its subsidiary, operates online consumer platform in the United States. It operates through three segments: Home, Consumer, and Insurance. The Home segment offers purchase mortgage, refinance mortgage, and home equity loans and lines of credit; and real estate brokerage services.