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

LendingClub Corporation (NYSE:LC) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $20.99 and last traded at $20.9570, with a volume of 1349954 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered LendingClub from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of LendingClub from $18.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of LendingClub from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective (up from $18.00) on shares of LendingClub in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LendingClub in a report on Monday, December 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LendingClub has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.57.

LendingClub Trading Up 4.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69 and a beta of 2.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.34.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last issued its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $256.27 million. LendingClub had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 7.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 31.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that LendingClub Corporation will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

LendingClub announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LendingClub news, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.29, for a total transaction of $578,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,210,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,342,250.30. This represents a 2.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Erin Selleck sold 2,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingClub

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in LendingClub during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $118,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in LendingClub by 165.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 33,788 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 21,045 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in LendingClub by 1.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 852,005 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,793,000 after purchasing an additional 12,019 shares during the period. Optimize Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of LendingClub by 6.4% during the first quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 32,628 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of LendingClub by 3.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 300,658 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,103,000 after purchasing an additional 11,407 shares during the period. 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.