LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

LendingClub Co. (NYSE:LC - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Friday after Compass Point raised their price target on the stock from $15.00 to $19.00. The stock had previously closed at $13.82, but opened at $14.34. Compass Point currently has a buy rating on the stock. LendingClub shares last traded at $14.31, with a volume of 231,645 shares.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on LC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of LendingClub from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $11.50 to $15.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Maxim Group increased their price target on LendingClub from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Wedbush boosted their price target on LendingClub from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised LendingClub from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of LendingClub from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LendingClub presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $15.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at LendingClub

In related news, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 17,000 shares of LendingClub stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.36, for a total transaction of $193,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,373,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,600,381.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 51,703 shares of company stock valued at $562,705 in the last quarter. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LC. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LendingClub during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its position in LendingClub by 44.9% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 7,514 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,328 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in LendingClub during the second quarter worth about $71,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in LendingClub in the 2nd quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of LendingClub by 259.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,267 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 5,247 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.08% of the company's stock.

LendingClub Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.76 and a beta of 2.04. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $11.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.02.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.06. LendingClub had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm had revenue of $201.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $190.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.05 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LendingClub Co. will post 0.39 EPS for the current year.

LendingClub Company Profile

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.