By Emily Dattilo
Everything old is new again, the adage says.
That may indeed be the case for SoFi Technologies, the company that began as a lender focused on refinancing debt, but that now operates through three segments: lending, which includes student, personal, and home loans; financial services; and a technology platform.
For a long time, lending was SoFi's crown jewel. But in recent quarters, the company has talked about financial services and tech stepping up a bit more, and that played out in the first half of this year.
However, then the winds appear to be shifting back to lending.
Earlier this month, SoFi announced a $2 billion deal for personal loans with funds managed by affiliates of investment-manager Fortress Investment Group LLC.
"The agreement will expand SoFi's capabilities in its loan-platform business, where the company refers prequalified borrowers to loan-origination partners as well as originates loans on behalf of third parties," the company said in a news release.
That clearly resonated with investors: Shares soared 11% on Oct. 14 -- the day of the announcement -- their best one-day gain since January, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Such a sizable deal seemed to hint that lending was becoming a growing trend in the fintech space. LendingClub's latest quarterly results, reported late Wednesday, appear to confirm it. The web-based lending company is seen as a peer of SoFi's lending business, and its earnings and revenue flew past estimates. Loan originations soared 27% from the year-ago quarter.
"We had a standout quarter, with credit outperformance and the return of bank buyers driving improved loan sales pricing, our capital strategy delivering a 25% larger balance sheet year to date, and strong financial performance translating to a meaningful improvement in book value per common share over the past 12 months," said LendingClub CEO Scott Sanborn in the earnings release.
Investors cheered, sending LendingClub stock up 11% Thursday, its largest one-day percentage increase since July. SoFi stock rose 4.9%.
The results bode well for SoFi, which reports earnings Oct. 29, according to J.P. Morgan. Analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce rate SoFi stock at Neutral with a price target of $9.
"We are relatively positive into the print [for SoFi], as we think rate cuts, and the return of bank loan buyers, will benefit loan sale volume and economics," they wrote Friday.
SoFi stock rose 1.7% in early trading Friday. This year, shares have gained about 12%.
Mizuho Securities analysts Dan Dolev struck a similar tone on Friday, arguing that LendingClub's results "portray an improving credit picture." The team raised its SoFi price target to $14 from $12 and reiterated an Outperform rating.
After several quarters of rising net charge-offs at LendingClub, the metric fell to 5.4% from 6.2% in the prior quarter, Mizuho analysts wrote. That matters because the company is a peer for SoFi for personal loan performance in terms of similar FICO scores and household income levels.
Investors will learn more from SoFi's earnings next week, but the stage looks set for a win in lending.
Write to Emily Dattilo at emily.dattilo@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 25, 2024 11:55 ET (15:55 GMT)
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