Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $51.38, but opened at $53.39. Upstart shares last traded at $53.31, with a volume of 1,521,980 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Upstart from $70.00 to $50.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Upstart from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Upstart from $105.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Upstart from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $57.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, B. Riley raised Upstart from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $49.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.81.

Upstart Trading Up 4.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of -36.77 and a beta of 2.29. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $45.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.94.

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

Insider Activity at Upstart

In other news, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 13,512 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 311,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,624,391.32. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Natalia Mirgorodskaya sold 1,340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total value of $59,214.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,088,090.37. The trade was a 5.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,116 shares of company stock worth $753,211. Insiders own 16.67% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upstart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPST. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Upstart by 49.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,475 shares of the company's stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upstart in the 4th quarter valued at $560,000. Kercheville Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Upstart by 49.8% in the fourth quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLC now owns 15,050 shares of the company's stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Upstart by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,978 shares of the company's stock worth $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bristlecone Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Upstart by 125.0% during the fourth quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 14,520 shares of the company's stock worth $894,000 after acquiring an additional 8,066 shares during the period. 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.

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