LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Key Points

• LendingClub has been upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen.
• The stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $16.57.
• Recent transactions by insiders, including CFO Andrew Labenne and CEO Scott Sanborn, involved selling shares, indicating a 9.16% and 0.41% decrease in their respective positions.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of LendingClub in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Piper Sandler set a $15.50 price target on shares of LendingClub and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of LendingClub from $14.00 to $16.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of LendingClub in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of LendingClub in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.57.

LendingClub Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LC traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $15.90. The stock had a trading volume of 791,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,724,314. LendingClub has a fifty-two week low of $7.90 and a fifty-two week high of $18.75. The company has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.83 and a beta of 2.46. The business's 50-day moving average price is $12.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.79.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.18. LendingClub had a return on equity of 5.66% and a net margin of 8.36%. The company had revenue of $248.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $227.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that LendingClub will post 0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at LendingClub

In other news, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 5,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.98, for a total transaction of $68,145.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,283,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,655,611.50. This trade represents a 0.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Labenne sold 17,955 shares of LendingClub stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.65, for a total value of $298,950.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 178,111 shares in the company, valued at $2,965,548.15. This trade represents a 9.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,205 shares of company stock worth $601,561. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LendingClub

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LC. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in LendingClub by 36.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,167,642 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $53,330,000 after buying an additional 1,368,057 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of LendingClub by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 3,897,322 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $40,220,000 after acquiring an additional 308,523 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of LendingClub by 196.5% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,131,253 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $34,505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412,568 shares during the last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC grew its stake in LendingClub by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 2,034,725 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $20,998,000 after buying an additional 425,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in LendingClub by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,839,360 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $29,779,000 after buying an additional 49,996 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.08% of the company's stock.

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.