Analysts Set Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) PT at $45.79

Shares of Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.7857.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UPST. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Upstart in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Upstart from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $35.00 in a report on Friday, February 13th. Compass Point raised Upstart from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $30.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Upstart from $56.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut Upstart from a “buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Paul Gu acquired 50,000 shares of Upstart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.50 per share, with a total value of $1,375,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 70,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,925,000. The trade was a 250.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dave Girouard acquired 170,240 shares of Upstart stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were 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 directly owned 8,512,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $250,025,077.17. The trade was a 2.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,342 shares of company stock valued at $544,626. Insiders own 17.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upstart

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Upstart by 3.3% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Upstart by 3.0% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Upstart by 29.1% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in Upstart by 5.3% during the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 5,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Upstart by 0.4% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 76,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,939,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Upstart Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of UPST stock opened at $28.08 on Friday. Upstart has a 12-month low of $23.97 and a 12-month high of $87.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $28.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.26.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.46). Upstart had a return on equity of 5.63% and a net margin of 4.34%.The firm had revenue of $308.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $301.30 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Upstart will post 0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upstart announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Key Stories Impacting Upstart

Here are the key news stories impacting Upstart this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced a class action against Upstart and certain officers, adding to the legal overhang and reinforcing investor concerns about possible securities-law violations. Pomerantz Law Firm Announces the Filing of a Class Action Against Upstart Holdings, Inc.and Certain Officers – UPST
• Negative Sentiment: Berger Montague, Rosen Law Firm, the Schall Law Firm, Faruqi & Faruqi, Levi & Korsinsky, and Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman all published notices tied to the same class action, keeping litigation risk front and center for shareholders. UPSTART HOLDINGS, INC. (UPST) INVESTOR ALERT: Berger Montague Advises Investors to Inquire About a Securities Fraud Class Action
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling by CFO Andrea Blankmeyer and insider Sanjay Datta was disclosed, but both sales were reported as related to tax withholding on vested equity awards, making them less alarming than discretionary selling. SEC filing

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.