Upstart Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:UPST)

Key Points

• Upstart Holdings, Inc. experienced a significant increase in call options trading, with investors purchasing **51,642 call options**, an increase of about **15%** from the average volume.
• The company's stock price declined **1.3%** to **$62.65**, with a trading volume of over **8 million shares**, compared to its average of approximately **6.3 million shares**.
• Insider activity shows that Upstart executives sold a considerable amount of stock recently, with CEO **Dave Girouard** selling **41,667 shares** at around **$75.07** each, indicating a **44.19%** decrease in his ownership.

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 51,642 call options on the company. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately15% compared to the average daily volume of 44,842 call options.

Upstart Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UPST traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $64.09. The stock had a trading volume of 4,446,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,622,358. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -801.13 and a beta of 2.39. Upstart has a twelve month low of $31.40 and a twelve month high of $96.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.12.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $257.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.35 million. Upstart had a negative net margin of 0.75% and a negative return on equity of 5.95%. The firm's revenue was up 101.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Upstart will post -0.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens initiated coverage on Upstart in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Upstart from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays increased their target price on Upstart from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Upstart to a "sell" rating and set a $71.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Upstart in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 13,512 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.97, for a total value of $634,658.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 311,356 shares in the company, valued at $14,624,391.32. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dave Girouard sold 41,667 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $3,127,941.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,614 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,949,732.98. This trade represents a 44.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 151,650 shares of company stock valued at $9,665,841. 16.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upstart

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPST. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upstart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upstart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Upstart by 72.1% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 864 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Upstart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Upstart by 29.1% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,068 shares of the company's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company's stock.

About Upstart

Upstart Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) lending platform in the United States. Its platform includes personal loans, automotive retail and refinance loans, home equity lines of credit, and small dollar loans that connects consumer demand for loans to its to bank and credit unions.