Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC Purchases New Stake in LendingClub Corporation $LC

Key Points

• Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in LendingClub Corporation, purchasing 24,300 shares valued at approximately $251,000 in the first quarter.
• Major hedge funds have significantly increased their positions in LendingClub, with Wellington Management Group lifting its stake by 353.1% and Driehaus Capital Management raising its position by 229.1% in the fourth quarter.
• Analysts currently rate LendingClub with a consensus of “Moderate Buy” and have an average price target of $16.57, reflecting positive sentiment following recent quarterly earnings that exceeded expectations.

Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in LendingClub Corporation (NYSE:LC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 24,300 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of LendingClub by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,563 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in LendingClub by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 90,565 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in LendingClub by 11.2% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,230 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $178,000 after buying an additional 1,730 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in LendingClub by 9.5% during the first quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 23,120 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank acquired a new position in shares of LendingClub in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.08% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 5,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.98, for a total value of $68,145.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,283,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,655,611.50. The trade was a 0.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Labenne sold 17,955 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.65, for a total transaction of $298,950.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 178,111 shares in the company, valued at $2,965,548.15. The trade was a 9.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,955 shares of company stock valued at $545,648. Company insiders own 3.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on LC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on LendingClub from $14.00 to $16.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of LendingClub in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler set a $15.50 price target on shares of LendingClub and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of LendingClub in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Citizens Jmp began coverage on LendingClub in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.57.

LendingClub Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of LC traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.12. 1,508,760 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,449,345. LendingClub Corporation has a 1-year low of $7.90 and a 1-year high of $18.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.77. The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63 and a beta of 2.46.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $248.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $227.04 million. LendingClub had a return on equity of 5.66% and a net margin of 8.36%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that LendingClub Corporation will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

LendingClub 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.