Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Given New $70.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has raised the price target for Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) from $50.00 to $70.00, indicating a potential upside of 1.86% from its current price.
• Analysts have varying views on Upstart, with one analyst rating it a sell, eight rating it hold, and five rating it buy, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.85.
• Upstart reported a 67.0% increase in revenue year-over-year, showing strong performance despite challenges reflected in a negative net margin of 9.20%.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Free Report) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $50.00 to $70.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on UPST. Stephens started coverage on Upstart in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on Upstart from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Upstart from $88.00 to $87.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler raised shares of Upstart to an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Upstart from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.85.

Upstart Price Performance

Shares of UPST traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $69.46. The stock had a trading volume of 2,827,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,229,391. The firm has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -869.50 and a beta of 2.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.17. Upstart has a twelve month low of $31.40 and a twelve month high of $96.43.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.09. Upstart had a negative return on equity of 5.95% and a negative net margin of 0.75%. The firm had revenue of $257.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $225.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.17) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 101.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Upstart will post -0.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Upstart

In other Upstart news, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 13,512 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 311,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,624,391.32. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dave Girouard sold 41,667 shares of Upstart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $3,127,941.69. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,614 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,949,732.98. This represents a 44.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 151,650 shares of company stock worth $9,665,841. Company insiders own 16.67% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upstart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Upstart by 1.8% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,382 shares of the company's stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Upstart by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,929 shares of the company's stock worth $836,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Upstart by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Upstart by 1.3% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,352 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Upstart by 20.0% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.