LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

LendingClub Co. (NYSE:LC) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $7.52, but opened at $8.40. LendingClub shares last traded at $8.81, with a volume of 473,523 shares trading hands.

The credit services provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.08. LendingClub had a net margin of 4.50% and a return on equity of 3.21%. The business had revenue of $180.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.52 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $10.00 price objective (up from $9.50) on shares of LendingClub in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of LendingClub from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of LendingClub in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of LendingClub from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LendingClub has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.42.

Institutional Trading of LendingClub

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in LendingClub by 190.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 609,966 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,733,000 after acquiring an additional 400,189 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in LendingClub during the 3rd quarter worth $2,970,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in LendingClub during the 3rd quarter worth $643,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in LendingClub by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 8,217 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 2,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of LendingClub by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,761 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 4,455 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.08% of the company’s stock.

LendingClub Stock Up 14.5 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $8.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $956.74 million, a PE ratio of 24.17 and a beta of 1.98.

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.