Piper Sandler Issues Positive Forecast for Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Stock Price

Key Points

• Piper Sandler raised Upstart’s price target to $51 from $46 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying 68.21% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Upstart has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $44.27, with eight Buy, seven Hold, and two Sell ratings.
• Upstart’s latest quarter showed 41.9% year-over-year revenue growth to $364.71 million, but reported EPS of $0.16 missed the $0.19 consensus estimate; insider selling and macroeconomic risks remain concerns.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by Piper Sandler from $46.00 to $51.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Piper Sandler's target price points to a potential upside of 68.21% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on UPST. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Upstart from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Upstart from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Upstart in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Upstart in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Upstart from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.27.

Upstart Price Performance

Shares of Upstart stock opened at $30.32 on Wednesday. Upstart has a 1 year low of $23.97 and a 1 year high of $85.31. The firm's 50-day moving average is $31.31 and its 200 day moving average is $31.58. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.79, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 2.29.

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

Insider Transactions at Upstart

In related news, insider Sanjay Datta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.41, for a total transaction of $456,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 313,556 shares in the company, valued at $9,535,237.96. This represents a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrea Blankmeyer sold 7,044 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.63, for a total transaction of $208,713.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 162,383 shares in the company, valued at $4,811,408.29. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 33,346 shares of company stock valued at $991,672. Company insiders own 17.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upstart

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Upstart during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Upstart by 749.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Upstart by 132.2% in the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 771 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Upstart during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in Upstart in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Upstart

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.

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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