Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts remain divided on Upstart: Among 16 analysts, eight rate the stock a buy, seven recommend holding, and one rates it a sell. The average 12-month price target is $44.40, above the reported share price of $30.30.
• Revenue growth was strong but profitability disappointed. Quarterly revenue increased 41.9% year over year to $364.71 million, while EPS of $0.16 missed the $0.18 consensus estimate; the stock also carries a relatively high price-to-earnings ratio.
• Upstart Bank is the key potential catalyst. Management expects to launch the bank early next year, which could improve funding access and support expansion into secured lending, though investors remain cautious until the strategy generates sustained profits.

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.40.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Upstart from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Upstart in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Upstart from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $35.00 price target on Upstart in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Upstart from $80.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Upstart Stock Up 5.0%

Shares of NASDAQ UPST opened at $30.30 on Friday. Upstart has a 12-month low of $23.97 and a 12-month high of $76.95. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $30.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.30. The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 2.29.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Upstart news, insider Sanjay Datta sold 8,945 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.09, for a total transaction of $251,265.05. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 292,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,218,516.02. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Andrea Blankmeyer sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.33, for a total transaction of $87,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 152,208 shares in the company, valued at $4,464,260.64. This trade represents a 1.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 47,713 shares of company stock valued at $1,425,049. 17.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upstart

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UPST. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Upstart in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Upstart by 749.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Upstart by 132.2% in the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 771 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Upstart in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in Upstart during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company's stock.

Upstart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Upstart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Planned Upstart Bank is the main bullish catalyst. CEO Paul Gu said Upstart expects to launch Upstart Bank early next year as part of the company’s “second leg” of development. Management believes the bank could improve access to funding, increase control over loan origination, and support expansion into secured products such as home and auto lending. Upstart Is Up After Announcing Plans to Launch Upstart Bank
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts see meaningful upside. A recent analysis estimated that UPST could be approximately 28% undervalued if management can make its AI lending platform consistently profitable and successfully broaden into secured credit. The company’s consensus price target of $44.40 also remains above recent trading levels, although the average rating is “Hold.” Upstart Could Be 28% Undervalued
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent insider sales appear primarily tax-related. Sanjay Datta sold 10,000 shares for approximately $314,600 on August 19 and another 8,945 shares for about $251,265 on August 20. Natalia Mirgorodskaya sold 586 shares for approximately $16,461, while CFO Andrea Blankmeyer also reported August sales. The filings state that the transactions covered tax withholding obligations tied to vested equity awards, making them a weaker bearish signal; the executives retained significant holdings. SEC Insider Trading Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and valuation remain risks. Upstart’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.16 missed the $0.18 consensus estimate, despite revenue growing 41.9% year over year to $364.71 million. With a relatively high earnings multiple and recent share-price weakness, investors may remain cautious until the bank strategy produces sustained profits. Why Upstart Stock Slid

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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