LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 678,300 shares, a decrease of 42.0% from the December 31st total of 1,170,000 shares. Currently, 6.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 312,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LendingTree news, CEO Douglas R. Lebda acquired 13,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.72 per share, with a total value of $516,360.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 121,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,829,912.28. This trade represents a 11.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Scott V. Totman bought 3,750 shares of LendingTree stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $38.59 per share, with a total value of $144,712.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief technology officer now owns 18,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,029.28. This trade represents a 25.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingTree

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of TREE. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new stake in LendingTree in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,651,000. Walleye Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of LendingTree by 118.0% in the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 7,770 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 50,910 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of LendingTree in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,612,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of LendingTree during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,045,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in LendingTree by 301.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 21,409 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 16,077 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.26% of the company's stock.

LendingTree Trading Down 4.7 %

TREE traded down $2.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 165,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 243,658. The stock has a market cap of $600.35 million, a PE ratio of -16.64 and a beta of 2.06. LendingTree has a fifty-two week low of $28.50 and a fifty-two week high of $62.49. 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 business's 50-day moving average is $40.92 and its 200-day moving average is $48.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TREE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of LendingTree from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Northland Capmk upgraded LendingTree from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on LendingTree from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded LendingTree from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Northland Securities raised shares of LendingTree from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LendingTree currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.00.

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.