Needham & Company LLC Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Stock

Key Points

• Needham raised Upstart’s price target to $42 from $40 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying roughly 38.5% upside from the cited $30.32 share price. However, the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with a $44.40 target.
• Upstart’s latest quarter showed revenue of $364.7 million, up 41.9% year over year and above estimates, although reported EPS of $0.16 missed the $0.19 consensus forecast. Analysts’ earnings figures vary depending on the accounting measure used.
• Investor sentiment remains mixed: institutional investors own about 63% of the stock, while insiders sold approximately $991,672 in shares over the past 90 days. The company’s growth outlook is supported by new funding commitments and potential bank-charter approval, but macroeconomic and loan-portfolio risks persist.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC from $40.00 to $42.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price would indicate a potential upside of 38.52% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley Financial cut their price target on shares of Upstart from $66.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Upstart from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Truist Financial set a $40.00 target price on shares of Upstart in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Upstart from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Upstart in a report on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Upstart has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $44.40.

Upstart Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:UPST opened at $30.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 79.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 2.29. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $31.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.58. Upstart has a 1-year low of $23.97 and a 1-year high of $85.31.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $364.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.29 million. Upstart had a return on equity of 5.63% and a net margin of 4.34%.The business's revenue was up 41.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Upstart will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrea Blankmeyer sold 7,044 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.63, for a total transaction of $208,713.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 162,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,811,408.29. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Sanjay Datta sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.41, for a total transaction of $456,150.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 313,556 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,535,237.96. This trade represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 33,346 shares of company stock worth $991,672 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 17.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upstart

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of UPST. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Upstart by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,011,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,166,000 after purchasing an additional 531,000 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Upstart by 154.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,206,615 shares of the company's stock worth $183,955,000 after buying an additional 2,554,591 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 26,734 shares during the period. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Upstart by 253.3% in the first quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. now owns 1,467,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,638,000 after buying an additional 1,052,039 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Upstart during the 4th quarter valued at $49,915,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company's stock.

Upstart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Upstart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 revenue and originations exceeded expectations. Upstart generated approximately $365 million in revenue, up about 42% year over year and ahead of Wall Street estimates. Management also reported 50% year-over-year growth in loan originations and an all-time high in contribution profit, supporting the view that platform demand and operating leverage are improving. Upstart Q2 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability was a key positive. Zacks reported adjusted earnings of $0.59 per share, above the $0.58 consensus estimate and well above the $0.36 reported a year earlier. However, other earnings data cited $0.16 per share versus a $0.19 estimate, indicating that the result depends on the accounting measure used. Zacks Upstart Q2 Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: Funding and regulatory developments strengthened the growth outlook. Upstart has secured more than $4 billion in newly committed capital through agreements with investors including Fortress, Centerbridge, and Neuberger. Conditional OCC approval to establish Upstart Bank could also reduce operational and regulatory complexity over time. Upstart Funding Momentum Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Full-year revenue guidance was maintained near consensus. Upstart projected FY 2026 revenue of approximately $1.4 billion, broadly matching analyst expectations, so the outlook was supportive but did not represent a major forecast upgrade.
• Negative Sentiment: Macro and portfolio risks remain. Management is navigating economic headwinds and strategic shifts in its loan portfolio. Investor sentiment is also tempered by mixed institutional activity and substantial insider selling reported over the past six months, despite purchases by CEO Dave Girouard and co-founder Paul Gu.

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.

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.

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