Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Needham & Company LLC Analyst Says

Key Points

• Needham & Company raised its price target on Upstart from $37 to $40 and kept a buy rating, implying about 16.5% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst views remain mixed overall: several firms recently set targets between $30 and $45, and MarketBeat says the stock currently has an average rating of Hold with an average price target of $44.93.
• Upstart’s latest quarter showed revenue growth of 44.3% to $308.21 million, but earnings per share came in at -$0.07, missing expectations. Shares opened at $34.33, near their 200-day moving average of $34.20.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $37.00 to $40.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target would suggest a potential upside of 16.52% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Mizuho set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Upstart in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $35.00 price target on shares of Upstart in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Upstart in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Upstart in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $40.00 target price on Upstart in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.93.

Upstart Price Performance

Shares of Upstart stock opened at $34.33 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $31.31 and its 200 day moving average is $34.20. Upstart has a one year low of $23.97 and a one year high of $87.30. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.34, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 2.26.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.46). Upstart had a return on equity of 5.63% and a net margin of 4.34%.The business had revenue of $308.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $301.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 44.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Upstart will post 0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upstart

In other news, CFO Andrea Blankmeyer sold 7,044 shares of Upstart stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.63, for a total transaction of $208,713.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 162,383 shares in the company, valued at $4,811,408.29. This trade represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Paul Gu bought 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.50 per share, with a total value of $1,375,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 70,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,925,000. This represents a 250.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 33,346 shares of company stock worth $991,672 in the last ninety days. 17.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upstart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPST. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Upstart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Upstart by 749.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Upstart by 132.2% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Upstart during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in Upstart during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Upstart Company Profile

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.

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