Needham & Company LLC Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST)

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $56.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price points to a potential upside of 43.74% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on UPST. Stephens cut their price target on Upstart from $55.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Upstart in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Upstart from $80.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Upstart in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Upstart from $88.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Upstart currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.45.

Upstart Stock Performance

UPST opened at $38.96 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 177.10 and a beta of 2.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $45.54 and a 200-day moving average of $52.90. Upstart has a 52-week low of $31.40 and a 52-week high of $96.43.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $296.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $288.54 million. Upstart had a return on equity of 3.68% and a net margin of 3.33%.Upstart’s quarterly revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Upstart will post -0.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Upstart

In other Upstart news, Director Kerry Whorton Cooper sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $75,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,196,700. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 13,624 shares of Upstart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.58, for a total transaction of $498,365.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 284,280 shares in the company, valued at $10,398,962.40. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 16,707 shares of company stock worth $633,080 in the last quarter. 16.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPST. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Upstart by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Upstart by 1.8% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Upstart by 3.0% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Upstart by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in shares of Upstart by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 5,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Upstart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Upstart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management issued FY‑2026 revenue guidance (~$1.4B) that topped Street expectations, triggering a sharp rally in after‑hours trading as investors repriced growth prospects. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Upstart reported strong top‑line growth in Q4 — revenue rose ~35% YoY to roughly $296M and beat consensus — giving credibility to the stronger forward revenue target. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced a leadership change (appointment of Gu as CEO) as part of a “leadership evolution,” which the market interpreted as a governance/operational positive alongside the new guidance. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Full Q4 release, slide deck and monthly origination volume report published for investors to review underlying loan growth and credit mix — useful detail but not an immediate directional driver by itself. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary and the Q&A are available in the earnings call transcript for deeper color on margins, buyback/capital use and partner traction. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Reported EPS came in slightly below some estimates (Zacks: $0.46 vs $0.47 consensus), which tempers the beat on revenue and raises questions on profitability leverage this year. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Notable options activity: a surge in put buying (roughly 49,733 puts reported), suggesting some traders are hedging or betting on a near‑term pullback despite the positive guidance. (Report entry: unusual options volume)

Upstart Company Profile

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.