LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

LendingClub Corporation (NYSE:LC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $21.40 and last traded at $21.5390, with a volume of 279799 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LC shares. Janney Montgomery Scott boosted their target price on LendingClub from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $20.00 price target (up from $18.00) on shares of LendingClub in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on LendingClub from $18.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research downgraded LendingClub from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded LendingClub from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.57.

LendingClub Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51 and a beta of 2.08.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.07. LendingClub had a return on equity of 7.68% and a net margin of 10.94%.The firm had revenue of $107.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. LendingClub’s quarterly revenue was up 31.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that LendingClub Corporation will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LendingClub announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Erin Selleck sold 2,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.47, for a total value of $46,533.30. Following the sale, the director directly owned 76,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,487,060.19. This represents a 3.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LendingClub

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of LendingClub by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 10,232 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in LendingClub by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 23,482 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in LendingClub by 8.8% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 13,354 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of LendingClub by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,051 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its holdings in LendingClub by 5.3% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 25,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.08% of the company’s stock.

About LendingClub

LendingClub Corporation operates an online lending marketplace that connects borrowers seeking personal and small business credit with individual and institutional investors. The platform leverages technology to streamline the loan application and underwriting process, offering unsecured personal loans, auto refinancing, and small business loans. In addition to lending products, LendingClub provides high-yield savings accounts and certificates of deposit through its banking charter, following its acquisition of Radius Bank in 2021.

Founded in 2006 by Renaud Laplanche, LendingClub pioneered peer-to-peer lending in the United States, helping to democratize access to credit and investment opportunities.