Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $25.60 and last traded at $28.28, with a volume of 6470729 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Upstart in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Upstart from $59.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market underperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Upstart in a research report on Friday, February 13th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Upstart in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Upstart from $81.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.17.

Upstart Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.85 and a 200-day moving average of $48.14. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.44.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.02. Upstart had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The company had revenue of $296.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $288.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Upstart Holdings, Inc. will post -0.03 EPS for the current year.

Upstart announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 19th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Upstart

In related news, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 7,982 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.86, for a total transaction of $238,342.52. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerry Whorton Cooper sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $75,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 23,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,196,700. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 10,981 shares of company stock valued at $357,201 in the last three months. 16.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upstart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rare Wolf Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Upstart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $616,000. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC acquired a new position in Upstart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $752,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Upstart by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 45,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,975,000 after purchasing an additional 13,205 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upstart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $380,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upstart in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.