loanDepot (NYSE:LDI) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

loanDepot, Inc. (NYSE:LDI) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.20, but opened at $2.91. loanDepot shares last traded at $2.8010, with a volume of 1,574,578 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LDI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $1.75 price target on shares of loanDepot in a report on Monday, December 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of loanDepot from $1.90 to $3.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of loanDepot from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of loanDepot in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $2.40 price objective on loanDepot in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, loanDepot currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $2.38.

loanDepot Trading Up 1.9%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $909.75 million, a PE ratio of -7.58, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 3.47.

loanDepot (NYSE:LDI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $325.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.20 million. loanDepot had a negative return on equity of 22.40% and a negative net margin of 6.46%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that loanDepot, Inc. will post -0.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other loanDepot news, CEO Anthony Li Hsieh sold 884,495 shares of loanDepot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.70, for a total transaction of $2,388,136.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 5,890,027 shares of company stock valued at $15,413,757 in the last 90 days. 78.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On loanDepot

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDI. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of loanDepot by 622.6% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,620,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,255,000 after purchasing an additional 4,842,751 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in loanDepot by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,528,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,902,000 after buying an additional 226,347 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in loanDepot by 1,125.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,020,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,201,000 after buying an additional 1,855,136 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in loanDepot by 134.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,925,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,446,000 after buying an additional 1,104,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of loanDepot by 15.6% during the second quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 1,178,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after acquiring an additional 158,739 shares during the last quarter. 39.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About loanDepot

loanDepot, Inc (NYSE: LDI) is a leading non-bank consumer lender that provides a broad range of home and personal financing products through a digitally enabled platform. The company specializes in originating and servicing purchase and refinance mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), and personal loans. Through its proprietary mello™ technology suite, loanDepot streamlines the application, underwriting, and closing processes for borrowers and real estate professionals, emphasizing speed, transparency, and a seamless digital experience.

Founded in 2010 by Anthony Hsieh, loanDepot has grown rapidly to become one of the largest independent mortgage lenders in the United States.