LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Short Interest Up 20.3% in November

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,020,000 shares, a growth of 20.3% from the November 15th total of 848,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 281,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Approximately 9.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Scott V. Totman acquired 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.59 per share, for a total transaction of $144,712.50. Following the purchase, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Heather Enlow-Novitsky sold 564 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.54, for a total transaction of $29,632.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingTree

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Emerald Advisers LLC grew its position in LendingTree by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 356,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,681,000 after purchasing an additional 10,497 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in LendingTree by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 292,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,182,000 after acquiring an additional 58,500 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust raised its stake in LendingTree by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 280,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,676,000 after acquiring an additional 23,995 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in LendingTree by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 253,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,697,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of LendingTree in the second quarter worth about $8,380,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on TREE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of LendingTree from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered LendingTree from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on LendingTree from $67.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on LendingTree from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on LendingTree from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.00.

LendingTree Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of TREE traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $40.00. 70,913 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 251,088. LendingTree has a 1 year low of $24.55 and a 1 year high of $62.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $49.05 and its 200-day moving average is $49.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $534.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.74 and a beta of 2.03.

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.