KBW Analyst Maintains Buy Rating on Lendingtree, Sets Price Target at $78.00

Lendingtree (TREE) received a Buy rating and a $78.00 price target from KBW analyst Ryan Tomasello. The analyst consensus is a Strong Buy with an average price target of $67.57. TREE's market cap is $845.3M and has a P/E ratio of -15.37. Corporate insider sentiment is negative, with 37 insiders selling shares in the past quarter.

LendingTree Inc. (TREE), a leading online consumer platform in the United States, has received a significant boost in analyst sentiment. KBW analyst Ryan Tomasello recently assigned a Buy rating to TREE, with a price target of $78.00 [3]. This rating is in line with the broader analyst consensus, which is currently a Strong Buy, with an average price target of $67.57 [2]. Despite the positive analyst sentiment, the company's market capitalization stands at $845.3M, and its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is -15.37, indicating a challenging valuation environment.

TREE's stock has been performing exceptionally well, with a 67.5% increase over the past month and a new 52-week high of $65.42 [1]. The company's earnings have been consistently beating expectations, with positive earnings surprises in each of the last four quarters. For the current fiscal year, TREE is expected to post earnings of $4.37 per share on $1.03 in revenues, representing a 36.99% change in EPS on a 14.93% change in revenues [1]. For the next fiscal year, the company is expected to earn $4.7 per share on $1.1 in revenues, indicating a year-over-year change of 7.49% and 6.75%, respectively.

Valuation metrics suggest that TREE's stock is relatively undervalued compared to its peers. The company's current fiscal year EPS estimates are at 14.5X, which is below the industry average of 15.3X [1]. On a trailing cash flow basis, TREE trades at 19.7X, compared to its peer group's average of 7.2X [1]. However, the Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) indicates favorable earnings estimate revisions from covering analysts, suggesting that the stock has room to run in the near term [1].

Corporate insider sentiment, however, is negative, with 37 insiders selling shares in the past quarter [2]. This could indicate that insiders believe the stock is overvalued, or it could be a sign of a larger trend in the market. Regardless, the combination of positive analyst sentiment and strong earnings growth makes TREE an attractive investment opportunity for those willing to take on the risk of a potentially overvalued stock.

References:

[1] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/lendingtree-inc-tree-soars-52-131501864.html
[2] https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/lendingtree-nasdaqtree-stock-rating-lowered-by-wall-street-zen-2025-08-18/
[3] https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/lendingtree-inc-tree-soars-52-week-high-time-cash-out