Driehaus Capital Management LLC Buys 2,498,318 Shares of LendingClub Co. (NYSE:LC)

Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in LendingClub Co. (NYSE:LC - Free Report) by 229.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,588,799 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,498,318 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned approximately 3.19% of LendingClub worth $58,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of LendingClub by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 27,248 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of LendingClub by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,563 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $187,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in LendingClub by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,986 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 1,975 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in LendingClub by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 29,316 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank bought a new position in LendingClub in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 74.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of LendingClub from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of LendingClub from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $19.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of LendingClub in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of LendingClub from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $15.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Jordan Cheng sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.10, for a total transaction of $98,700.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 88,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,244,508.30. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 5,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $52,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,303,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,030,320. This trade represents a 0.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,750 shares of company stock worth $257,985 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.19% of the company's stock.

LendingClub Price Performance

LC traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $11.16. 1,118,884 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,600,377. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.79 and a beta of 2.35. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $10.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.49. LendingClub Co. has a one year low of $7.81 and a one year high of $18.75.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10. LendingClub had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 4.16%. The company had revenue of $217.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $213.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21670.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that LendingClub Co. will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

About LendingClub

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.