LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Short Interest Down 40.8% in January

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) was the target of a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 393,900 shares, a decline of 40.8% from the January 15th total of 665,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 299,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TREE has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on LendingTree from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on LendingTree from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Northland Securities upgraded LendingTree from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Northland Capmk upgraded LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on LendingTree from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $64.00.

Insider Transactions at LendingTree

In other news, CTO Scott V. Totman purchased 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $38.59 per share, with a total value of $144,712.50. Following the purchase, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,029.28. The trade was a 25.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Douglas R. Lebda purchased 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.72 per share, for a total transaction of $516,360.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,829,912.28. This represents a 11.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LendingTree

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LendingTree during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,651,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of LendingTree during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,612,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LendingTree during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,045,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of LendingTree by 301.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 21,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after buying an additional 16,077 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of LendingTree by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 242,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,393,000 after buying an additional 15,400 shares during the period. 68.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LendingTree Trading Up 1.7 %

TREE traded up $0.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 140,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,407. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.31. 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 stock has a market cap of $627.52 million, a PE ratio of -17.40 and a beta of 2.07. LendingTree has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $62.49.

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.