Insider Buying: Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Director Acquires 170,240 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider purchase: Director Dave Girouard bought 170,240 shares at an average price of $29.37 (~$5.0M), increasing his stake to 8,512,941 shares (a 2.04% rise), a move that signals management confidence.
• Q1 results mixed: Revenue rose 44.3% to $308.21M and beat estimates, but EPS missed at ($0.07) vs. $0.39 expected and adjusted‑EBITDA missed, prompting several analysts to trim price targets and leaving the consensus rating at "Hold" with a $45.87 target.
• Capital actions and risks: Upstart authorized a $100M buyback (≈3.2% of shares) and secured a forward‑flow funding pact (up to $1.25B) to scale originations, while facing heightened litigation risk from recent securities class‑action filings.

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) Director Dave Girouard bought 170,240 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.37 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,948.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,512,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $250,025,077.17. This trade represents a 2.04% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Upstart Stock Performance

Upstart stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $28.86. 2,091,929 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,012,689. Upstart Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.97 and a fifty-two week high of $87.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.93, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 2.26. The firm's 50 day moving average is $28.67 and its 200-day moving average is $38.04.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.46). Upstart had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 5.58%. The business had revenue of $308.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $301.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 44.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Upstart Holdings, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

Upstart declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citizens Jmp restated a "market underperform" rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Upstart in a research report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Upstart from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Upstart from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered Upstart from a "buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho set a $45.00 target price on Upstart in a research report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.87.

More Upstart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Upstart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director Dave Girouard bought 170,240 shares (~$5.0M at ~$29.37), increasing his stake — an insider purchase that signals management confidence. Director Dave Girouard Insider Purchase
• Positive Sentiment: Upstart expanded funding/distribution with a forward‑flow pact (up to $1.25B) with Fortress and a partnership with Justice Federal Credit Union — adds scale to originations and funding diversity. Upstart Down 5.1% After Fortress Loan Pact and Wider Q1 Loss - Yahoo
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research reiterated a Buy rating on UPST, offering some buy‑side support amid volatility. BTIG Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO/co‑founder scheduled for a J.P. Morgan TMT conference fireside chat — visibility event that could help messaging but is unlikely to move shares materially on its own. CEO Fireside Chat at J.P. Morgan TMT
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have filed or are soliciting lead‑plaintiff applications in a securities class action (class period May 14–Nov 4, 2025) with a June 8, 2026 deadline — heightened litigation risk and potential damages exposure. Pomerantz Class Action Filing Schall Law Firm Notice
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts trimmed price targets after Q1: Piper Sandler cut its PT to $46 (kept Overweight), B. Riley and Needham lowered targets — analyst downgrades raise near‑term downside pressure. Piper Sandler Price Target Cut B. Riley Price Target Cut Needham Price Target Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 showed revenue growth and larger originations but a wider net loss and an adjusted‑EBITDA miss; mixed fundamentals (growth vs. profitability) are keeping traders cautious. Benzinga: Revenue Beat, EPS Miss

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upstart

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UPST. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Upstart by 154.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,206,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $183,955,000 after acquiring an additional 2,554,591 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Upstart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,915,000. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Upstart by 253.3% in the 1st quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. now owns 1,467,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,638,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052,039 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP bought a new stake in Upstart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,580,000. Finally, Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Upstart by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,480,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,625,000 after acquiring an additional 826,974 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company's stock.

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.

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