B. Riley Financial Cuts Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Price Target to $54.00

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) had its price target cut by B. Riley Financial from $66.00 to $54.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on UPST. Citigroup cut Upstart from a “buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Upstart from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Upstart from $56.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Upstart from $59.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Upstart from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.87.

Upstart Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:UPST opened at $28.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 2.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.67 and its 200-day moving average is $38.04. Upstart has a 1-year low of $23.97 and a 1-year high of $87.30.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.46). The firm had revenue of $308.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $301.30 million. Upstart had a return on equity of 5.63% and a net margin of 4.34%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Upstart will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

Upstart declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 7,982 shares of Upstart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.86, for a total value of $238,342.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 276,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,261,903.68. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dave Girouard acquired 170,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $29.37 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,948.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 8,512,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $250,025,077.17. This trade represents a 2.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,481 shares of company stock worth $282,201. 16.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upstart

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Upstart by 43.9% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new position in Upstart in the first quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Upstart by 267.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,022,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,234,000 after buying an additional 744,190 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Upstart by 45.5% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 1,097 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Upstart by 1.4% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 173,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,443,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Upstart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Upstart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director Dave Girouard bought 170,240 shares for about $5.0 million, a notable insider purchase that can signal confidence in Upstart’s outlook. SEC Form 4 filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Upstart’s latest quarterly report showed revenue growth above expectations but a loss per share that missed estimates, which has kept investors cautious after the post-earnings reaction. Benzinga article
• Neutral Sentiment: BTIG reiterated a Buy rating, but B. Riley and Needham both cut their price targets, signaling mixed analyst views rather than a clear catalyst. BTIG rating article B. Riley target cut article Needham target cut article
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms are promoting a securities class action tied to the May 14, 2025 to November 4, 2025 period, adding legal uncertainty and potential settlement costs for Upstart. Schall Law Firm article Gross Law Firm article Rosen Law Firm article
• Negative Sentiment: Recent reports say Upstart is down after a wider Q1 loss, which reinforces concerns that profitability remains inconsistent despite revenue and originations growth. Yahoo Finance article

About Upstart

Upstart Holdings, Inc operates a cloud-based lending marketplace that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to assess borrower creditworthiness. The company partners with banks and credit unions, providing its proprietary AI models and underwriting platform to facilitate consumer credit products. By focusing on non‐traditional data points—such as education, employment history and other real‐time indicators—Upstart seeks to improve approval rates and lower loss rates compared with conventional credit scoring methods.

Upstart’s core offering centers on unsecured personal loans, which borrowers can use for purposes such as debt consolidation, home improvements or major purchases.