Upstart's (UPST) "Buy" Rating Reiterated at B. Riley Financial

Key Points

• B. Riley reiterated its Buy rating on Upstart but cut its price target from $54 to $42; the new target implies about 85% upside from the stock’s cited price.
• Analyst views are mixed: MarketBeat’s consensus rating is Hold, with a $37.94 average target; seven analysts rate the stock Buy, seven Hold, and three Sell.
• Upstart reported quarterly revenue of $370.5 million, up 33.7% year over year and above estimates, and EPS of $0.33 versus the $0.20 consensus. The article also notes a cautious outlook, including lower full-year expectations.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by equities research analysts at B. Riley Financial in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $42.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $54.00. B. Riley Financial's target price suggests a potential upside of 85.46% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Upstart from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Upstart from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Upstart in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. They set a "hold" rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Upstart from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut their price target on shares of Upstart from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "market underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.94.

Upstart Trading Up 6.0%

Shares of Upstart stock traded up $1.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $22.65. 1,870,220 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,661,780. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.76. Upstart has a fifty-two week low of $20.59 and a fifty-two week high of $52.10.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.13. Upstart had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 4.84%. The business had revenue of $370.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. Upstart's quarterly revenue was up 33.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Upstart will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Upstart news, CEO Paul Gu bought 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.55 per share, with a total value of $1,277,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 130,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,321,500. The trade was a 62.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sanjay Datta sold 116,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.29, for a total value of $3,165,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 476,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,813.62. This trade represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,652 shares of company stock valued at $4,133,720. 17.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upstart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UPST. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Upstart by 76.7% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Upstart by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 1,790 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Upstart by 274.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,350 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Upstart during the second quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Upstart during the first quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Upstart

Here are the key news stories impacting Upstart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 revenue was about $370.5 million, up 33.7% year over year and ahead of estimates. Adjusted earnings per share were also reported above consensus in the company’s results coverage. Earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Upstart achieved record contribution profit in Q3, and its secured-loan business turned profitable—signs of improved operating performance despite a challenging environment. Three key takeaways from Upstart’s report
• Neutral Sentiment: BTIG and Needham lowered their price targets to $40 and $30, respectively, but both maintained Buy ratings. The cuts signal more cautious expectations, while the ratings remain supportive. BTIG analyst ratings
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s outlook was cautious: coverage cited lower full-year guidance, including reduced EBITDA expectations and concerns about macro headwinds and balance-sheet pressure. This tempered the impact of the quarterly beat and contributed to volatile trading around the report. Q3 results and 2026 outlook

About Upstart

Upstart Holdings, Inc NASDAQ: UPST operates an artificial intelligence-powered lending marketplace. Its platform connects consumers seeking credit with banks and credit unions, using data-driven underwriting models designed to evaluate applicants beyond traditional credit-score-based methods.

The company provides technology for several lending categories, including personal loans, automotive retail and refinance lending, home equity lines of credit, and small-dollar lending. Upstart's platform supports financial institutions with application processing, risk assessment, loan origination, and related automation, while offering consumers a digital borrowing experience.

Founded in 2012, Upstart is headquartered in San Mateo, California, and primarily serves the United States.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.