Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• Upstart shares initially rose 4.3%, opening at $26.19 after CEO Paul Gu purchased 50,000 shares for approximately $1.28 million, increasing his stake by 62.5%.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: eight analysts rate the stock Buy, seven Hold, and two Sell, producing a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $43.75.
• Upstart’s latest quarterly revenue grew 41.9% year over year to $364.71 million, exceeding estimates, though earnings of $0.16 per share missed the $0.18 consensus forecast.

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $25.10, but opened at $26.19. Upstart shares last traded at $25.6240, with a volume of 803,021 shares trading hands.

Specifically, CEO Paul Gu acquired 50,000 shares of Upstart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.55 per share, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 62.50% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on UPST. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Upstart from $80.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Upstart from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Upstart in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Upstart from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Upstart from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Eight 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $43.75.

Upstart Stock Up 2.0%

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $29.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 52.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 2.16.

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

Institutional Trading of Upstart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Upstart by 132.2% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 771 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Upstart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Upstart in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Upstart by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,068 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company's stock.

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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