LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Short Interest Update

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 393,900 shares, a drop 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 presently 1.3 days. Approximately 3.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Douglas R. Lebda bought 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.72 per share, with a total value of $516,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,829,912.28. This represents a 11.97 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Scott V. Totman acquired 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, 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 position. 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 have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC bought a new position in shares of LendingTree during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,651,000. Walleye Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 118.0% during the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 7,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 50,910 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP boosted its position in shares of LendingTree by 97.0% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 81,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,151,000 after purchasing an additional 40,038 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of LendingTree by 74.6% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 84,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,262,000 after buying an additional 35,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in LendingTree by 199.1% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 50,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,939,000 after buying an additional 33,309 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on TREE. Northland Capmk upgraded LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on LendingTree from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Northland Securities raised LendingTree from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on LendingTree from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on LendingTree from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.00.

LendingTree Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TREE traded up $0.52 during trading on Thursday, reaching $44.98. 27,769 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 221,542. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. LendingTree has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $62.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $600.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.66 and a beta of 2.07. The business’s fifty day moving average is $41.31 and its 200-day moving average is $48.32.

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.