LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) Stock Price Up 6.3% – Should You Buy?

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) shot up 6.3% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $45.58 and last traded at $45.74. 47,347 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 237,250 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on TREE. Northland Securities raised shares of LendingTree from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of LendingTree from $78.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on LendingTree from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of LendingTree from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Northland Capmk raised shares of LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LendingTree presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.75.

LendingTree Stock Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $606.08 million, a PE ratio of -16.76 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.07.

Insider Activity at LendingTree

In other news, COO Scott Peyree purchased 9,794 shares of LendingTree stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.13 per share, for a total transaction of $451,797.22. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 97,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,500,719.58. This trade represents a 11.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 23.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LendingTree

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TREE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 148,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,454,000 after purchasing an additional 21,539 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of LendingTree by 51.6% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,292 shares in the last quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 30,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in LendingTree by 4.9% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in LendingTree by 60,092.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 22,835 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.