Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Now Covered by Stephens

Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Upstart from $87.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Upstart from $15.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on Upstart from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Upstart in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, B. Riley raised shares of Upstart from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.96.

Upstart Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of Upstart stock traded down $2.71 on Thursday, reaching $51.87. 4,562,856 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,134,281. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.35. Upstart has a 1-year low of $20.60 and a 1-year high of $96.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of -35.51 and a beta of 2.29.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.11. Upstart had a negative return on equity of 25.87% and a negative net margin of 20.20%. The firm had revenue of $213.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $201.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.31) EPS. Upstart's quarterly revenue was up 67.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Upstart will post -0.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Natalia Mirgorodskaya sold 764 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $35,877.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,219,222.48. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 13,512 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.97, for a total transaction of $634,658.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 311,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,624,391.32. This trade represents a 4.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,116 shares of company stock worth $753,211. Company insiders own 16.67% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upstart

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blair William & Co. IL purchased a new position in Upstart during the 4th quarter valued at about $222,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Upstart by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,793,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $479,843,000 after purchasing an additional 369,640 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Upstart during the 4th quarter valued at $234,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Upstart during the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, Symmetry Partners LLC purchased a new position in Upstart during the fourth quarter worth about $314,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company's stock.

Upstart Company Profile

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.