Short Interest in LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Decreases By 42.0%

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 678,300 shares, a decline of 42.0% from the December 15th total of 1,170,000 shares. Approximately 6.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 312,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

LendingTree Stock Up 4.5 %

TREE stock traded up $1.72 on Thursday, reaching $40.24. 160,512 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 197,063. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.80. LendingTree has a one year low of $24.55 and a one year high of $62.49. The company has a market cap of $537.69 million, a P/E ratio of -14.90 and a beta of 2.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of LendingTree from $67.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of LendingTree from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on LendingTree from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered LendingTree from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on LendingTree from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.00.

Insider Activity

In other LendingTree news, CEO Douglas R. Lebda purchased 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,829,912.28. This trade represents a 11.97 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Scott V. Totman acquired 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $38.59 per share, for a total transaction of $144,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 18,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,029.28. The trade was a 25.97 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LendingTree

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LendingTree in the third quarter worth about $3,651,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of LendingTree by 25.0% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 292,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,182,000 after acquiring an additional 58,500 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 118.0% in the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 7,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 50,910 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in LendingTree during the third quarter valued at about $1,612,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LendingTree during the third quarter worth about $1,045,000. Institutional investors own 68.26% of the company’s stock.

About LendingTree

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.