LendingTree, Inc. $TREE Shares Sold by Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC

Key Points

• Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC significantly reduced its stake in LendingTree by 60.4%, selling 100,559 shares, and now holds 66,016 shares valued at approximately $3.32 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in LendingTree, with notable increases from Squarepoint Ops LLC (up 2,074.7%) and AQR Capital Management LLC (up 70.6%) in the last quarters.
• LendingTree reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.13, surpassing estimates, with a revenue of $250.10 million, marking a 19.0% increase year-over-year.

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lessened its stake in shares of LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE - Free Report) by 60.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,016 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 100,559 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned about 0.49% of LendingTree worth $3,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 51.1% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,712 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in LendingTree by 45.7% during the first quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 118,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,953,000 after buying an additional 37,122 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in LendingTree by 68.2% during the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 10,757 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 4,362 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 806.4% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 1,766 shares during the period. Finally, Credit Agricole S A lifted its holdings in LendingTree by 141.7% in the first quarter. Credit Agricole S A now owns 36,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,816,000 after acquiring an additional 21,186 shares during the last quarter. 68.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on TREE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded LendingTree from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered LendingTree from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on LendingTree from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $62.00 price target on shares of LendingTree and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LendingTree presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.38.

LendingTree Price Performance

TREE traded up $0.05 on Thursday, reaching $71.77. The company had a trading volume of 230,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 282,682. The company has a market capitalization of $977.51 million, a P/E ratio of -17.68 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $55.02 and a 200-day moving average of $46.51. LendingTree, Inc. has a one year low of $33.50 and a one year high of $74.15.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.04. LendingTree had a negative net margin of 5.33% and a positive return on equity of 25.79%. The business had revenue of $250.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $244.03 million. LendingTree's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that LendingTree, Inc. will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Heather Enlow-Novitsky sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total transaction of $69,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 1,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $71,075.92. This trade represents a 49.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason Bengel sold 6,469 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.86, for a total transaction of $445,455.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 6,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $448,760.62. This trade represents a 49.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,669 shares of company stock worth $598,331. 23.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.