B. Riley Financial Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Stock Price

Key Points

• B. Riley Financial cut its price target on Upstart to $54 from $66 but kept a "buy" rating, implying roughly an 89% upside from the prior close while consensus among analysts remains a "Hold" with a $47.53 average target.
• Q1 results showed revenue of $308.2M (up ~44% YoY) but an EPS miss (loss $0.07 vs. $0.39 expected), which sent the stock down about 8.6% and triggered class‑action filings and recent target cuts by major banks.
• The board authorized a $100M share buyback (up to ~3.2% of shares), even as insiders have sold shares recently and institutional investors own roughly 63% of the company.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by research analysts at B. Riley Financial from $66.00 to $54.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. B. Riley Financial's target price indicates a potential upside of 89.49% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Upstart in a research note on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Upstart from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Upstart from $59.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market underperform" rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Upstart in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $46.00 price objective on Upstart in a research report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Upstart presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.53.

Upstart Trading Down 8.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:UPST opened at $28.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.30. The company has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 67.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. Upstart has a twelve month low of $23.97 and a twelve month high of $87.30.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.46). The company had revenue of $308.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $301.30 million. Upstart had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 6.30%. Upstart's revenue was up 44.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Upstart will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upstart declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 7,982 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.86, for a total value of $238,342.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 276,688 shares in the company, valued at $8,261,903.68. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 9,481 shares of company stock worth $282,201 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 16.67% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clearstead Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Upstart during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Upstart in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Upstart by 749.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Upstart by 132.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 771 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Upstart during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company's stock.

More Upstart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Upstart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat and strong growth — Upstart reported Q1 revenue of $308.2M, up ~44% year‑over‑year, showing demand growth on its lending platform. Upstart Announces First-Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: BTIG reaffirmed a "buy" and set a $43 target, signaling continued conviction in long‑term upside. Benzinga - BTIG Research
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships expanding distribution — Upstart announced a partnership with Justice Federal Credit Union to widen access to its lending platform. Upstart Holdings (UPST) Partners with Justice Federal Credit Union
• Neutral Sentiment: Price target movement is mixed: Needham trimmed its target from $40 to $37 but kept a "buy" rating (moderating upside), while other firms have varied views. Benzinga - Needham
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call and transcript are available for deeper read on guidance and unit economics — useful for judging sustainability of recent revenue growth. Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Moby Earnings Call Summary
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss / widening loss — Upstart missed consensus on EPS (reported a loss for the quarter), which triggered immediate downward trading and margin concerns despite revenue beat. UPST Q1 Earnings Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple class‑action filings and investor alerts — Several law firms have filed or solicited plaintiffs in securities class actions related to prior disclosures, which can create legal overhang and investor uncertainty. Pomerantz Class Action Rosen Law Firm Notice
• Negative Sentiment: Major bank target cuts cited by litigation alerts — Reports note that Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs trimmed targets recently, which, along with the EPS miss, pressures sentiment and valuations. Levi & Korsinsky Investor Alert

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.

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