Upstart's (UPST) "Buy" Rating Reiterated at BTIG Research

Key Points

• BTIG Research reiterated its “Buy” rating on Upstart and set a $43 price target, implying 68.1% upside from the stock’s previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: eight analysts rate Upstart a Buy, eight rate it Hold and one rates it Sell, resulting in an overall “Hold” consensus and an average target price of $43.75.
• Upstart’s latest quarter showed revenue of $364.7 million, up 41.9% year over year and above estimates, although earnings of $0.16 per share missed the $0.18 consensus forecast.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by analysts at BTIG Research in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $43.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research's target price would indicate a potential upside of 68.10% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Upstart in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Upstart from $80.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Upstart from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Upstart from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Upstart from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Upstart currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $43.75.

Upstart Price Performance

Shares of UPST stock opened at $25.58 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $28.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.54. Upstart has a 1 year low of $23.97 and a 1 year high of $66.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.20, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 2.16.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $364.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $354.74 million. Upstart had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 4.84%.Upstart's revenue was up 41.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Upstart will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Upstart news, insider Natalia Mirgorodskaya sold 913 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.03, for a total value of $27,417.39. Following the sale, the insider owned 35,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,077,326.25. This trade represents a 2.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Paul Gu purchased 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.55 per share, with a total value of $1,277,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 130,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,321,500. The trade was a 62.50% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 148,652 shares of company stock worth $4,133,720. 17.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upstart

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Upstart by 11.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 531,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Upstart by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,068,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,469,000 after acquiring an additional 26,734 shares during the last quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. raised its position in Upstart by 253.3% during the first quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. now owns 1,467,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,638,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052,039 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Upstart during the fourth quarter worth about $49,915,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Upstart by 267.1% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company's stock.

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.

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