Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.75.

Several research firms recently commented on UPST. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Upstart from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Upstart from $80.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Upstart from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Upstart in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Upstart from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th.

Upstart Stock Down 5.9%

Shares of NASDAQ UPST opened at $24.45 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 49.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 2.16. Upstart has a twelve month low of $23.97 and a twelve month high of $64.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.50.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.02). Upstart had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 4.84%.The business had revenue of $364.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $354.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 41.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Upstart will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Upstart

In other news, insider Sanjay Datta sold 116,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.29, for a total transaction of $3,165,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 476,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,813.62. This represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrea Blankmeyer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.33, for a total value of $87,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 152,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,464,260.64. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 148,652 shares of company stock valued at $4,133,720. Company insiders own 17.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Upstart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,915,000. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Upstart by 253.3% during the first quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. now owns 1,467,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,638,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052,039 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Upstart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,580,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Upstart by 267.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,022,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,234,000 after purchasing an additional 744,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Upstart by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,011,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,166,000 after purchasing an additional 531,000 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Upstart Company Profile

Upstart Holdings, Inc is a financial technology company that operates an artificial intelligence-powered lending marketplace. Its platform connects consumers seeking credit with banks and credit unions, using alternative data and machine-learning models alongside traditional credit information to help lending partners evaluate applicants and originate loans.

The company’s offerings include technology for personal lending, auto lending and home equity lending. Upstart provides tools that support the application, underwriting and loan-origination process, while participating financial institutions generally fund and service the loans.