LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Short Interest Down 40.8% in January

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 393,900 shares, a decrease of 40.8% from the January 15th total of 665,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 299,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

LendingTree Stock Performance

TREE traded up $0.79 on Friday, hitting $46.97. 140,556 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 250,407. The firm has a market cap of $627.52 million, a PE ratio of -17.40 and a beta of 2.07. LendingTree has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $62.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at LendingTree

In other news, CEO Douglas R. Lebda acquired 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.72 per share, with a total value of $516,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,829,912.28. This represents a 11.97 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Scott V. Totman acquired 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $38.59 per share, with a total value of $144,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 18,192 shares in the company, valued at $702,029.28. The trade was a 25.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LendingTree

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its stake in shares of LendingTree by 77.0% in the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 1,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in shares of LendingTree in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. nVerses Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of LendingTree by 200.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 248.0% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of LendingTree in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of LendingTree from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Northland Securities upgraded shares of LendingTree from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of LendingTree from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of LendingTree from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $64.00.

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.