LendingClub price target raised to $10 from $9 at Stephens

Stephens analyst Vincent Caintic raised the firm’s price target on LendingClub (LC) to $10 from $9 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The firm is “somewhat surprised” shares were indicating down 4% premarket given that prior Q4 fintech earnings where inline guidance or even lower-than-consensus guidance were “met with relief rallies. However, LendingClub is “the relative long in the group in contrast with other fintechs, which may be driving this dynamic,” the analyst explained. Stephens thinks the next catalyst for LendingClub shares will be peaking credit losses, which management guides for mid-2024. Management also guided to 2024 results being inline with Q1, absent macro changes, which implies that fintech volume growth “will likely remain tepid even for companies further along in the volume-cycle like LendingClub,” which makes the firm somewhat more cautious about the rallies in other fintech stocks, like Upstart (UPST), the analyst added.