Janus Henderson Group PLC Grows Holdings in LendingClub Co. (NYSE:LC)

Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in LendingClub Co. (NYSE:LC) by 42.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,995 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,966 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 0.05% of LendingClub worth $685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in LendingClub during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of LendingClub by 32.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,865 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in LendingClub by 259.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,267 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 5,247 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in LendingClub during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in LendingClub during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $72,000. 74.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LendingClub Trading Up 1.4 %

LendingClub stock opened at $16.56 on Friday. LendingClub Co. has a 12 month low of $7.48 and a 12 month high of $17.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.00 and a beta of 2.02. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.67.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $201.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.40 million. LendingClub had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 4.02%. LendingClub’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that LendingClub Co. will post 0.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Jordan Cheng sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.83, for a total transaction of $326,260.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 89,385 shares in the company, valued at $1,325,579.55. This represents a 19.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 17,000 shares of LendingClub stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.09, for a total transaction of $188,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,356,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,041,067.57. This trade represents a 1.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,500 shares of company stock worth $1,073,100 over the last 90 days. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LC. StockNews.com downgraded LendingClub from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of LendingClub from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 target price (up previously from $14.00) on shares of LendingClub in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of LendingClub from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Compass Point lifted their price objective on LendingClub from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.00.

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.