LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Sunday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of LendingClub in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of LendingClub from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of LendingClub in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Janney Montgomery Scott lifted their price target on LendingClub from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on LendingClub from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

LendingClub Stock Up 2.7%

NYSE LC opened at $15.61 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.51. LendingClub has a 52 week low of $7.90 and a 52 week high of $21.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 2.08.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $266.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.88 million. LendingClub had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 13.58%.LendingClub’s quarterly revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.08 earnings per share. LendingClub has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.650-1.800 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.390 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that LendingClub will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

LendingClub declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LendingClub news, Director Erin Selleck sold 2,390 shares of LendingClub stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.47, for a total transaction of $46,533.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 76,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,487,060.19. The trade was a 3.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LC. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in LendingClub in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of LendingClub in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of LendingClub in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of LendingClub by 343.0% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,030 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 2,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LendingClub during the second quarter worth approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.08% of the company’s stock.

LendingClub Company Profile

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.