LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on TREE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on LendingTree from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Northland Capmk raised LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on LendingTree from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on LendingTree from $78.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Northland Securities raised LendingTree from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LendingTree presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.75.

LendingTree Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ TREE opened at $51.39 on Tuesday. LendingTree has a 12 month low of $33.58 and a 12 month high of $62.49. The company has a market cap of $688.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.03 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.19.

Insider Transactions at LendingTree

In related news, COO Scott Peyree acquired 9,794 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.13 per share, with a total value of $451,797.22. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 97,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,500,719.58. The trade was a 11.16 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LendingTree

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of LendingTree by 2,074.7% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 107,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,185,000 after acquiring an additional 103,032 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of LendingTree by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 166,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,455,000 after acquiring an additional 93,244 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of LendingTree by 70.6% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 131,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,092,000 after acquiring an additional 54,368 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of LendingTree by 118.0% in the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 7,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 50,910 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of LendingTree by 199.2% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 64,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 42,647 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.