Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Trading 10.2% Higher Following Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• Upstart shares jumped 10.2% after insider buying activity, with CEO Paul Gu and Director Dave Girouard both making sizable stock purchases. The stock traded as high as $29.34 before last changing hands at $29.73.
• Recent earnings were mixed: Upstart missed EPS estimates but beat on revenue, reporting $308.21 million in quarterly revenue, up 44.3% year over year. Analysts still expect the company to post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Wall Street remains divided, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.79. The stock also faces a legal overhang, as class action lawsuit announcements have added to investor concern.

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 10.2% on Thursday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $29.34 and last traded at $29.73. 3,236,112 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 4,988,718 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.99.

Specifically, CEO Paul Gu acquired 50,000 shares of Upstart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.50 per share, for a total transaction of $1,375,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 70,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,925,000. The trade was a 250.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dave Girouard acquired 170,240 shares of Upstart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.37 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,948.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 8,512,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $250,025,077.17. This represents a 2.04% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on UPST shares. Compass Point upgraded Upstart from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings cut Upstart from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Upstart from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Mizuho set a $45.00 price objective on Upstart in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reduced their price objective on Upstart from $66.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.79.

Key Stories Impacting Upstart

Here are the key news stories impacting Upstart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Paul Gu bought 50,000 shares at $27.50 each, a notable insider purchase that may signal confidence in Upstart’s prospects. MarketBeat insider transaction report
• Positive Sentiment: UPST remains a highly watched stock among traders, suggesting elevated attention and potential for continued volatility. Upstart Holdings, Inc. (UPST) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Neutral Sentiment: Upstart is still being covered as a “better value” or comparison stock in financial media, but these articles do not appear to add any new company-specific catalyst. IFS or UPST: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: A class action lawsuit has been filed against Upstart and certain officers, with several firms urging investors to join before the June 8 deadline. That legal overhang can be a headwind for the stock. Class action lawsuit announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Additional lawsuit reminders from other plaintiff firms reinforce the same litigation risk and keep attention on alleged investor harm and past disclosure issues. Securities fraud lawsuit alert

Upstart Stock Up 9.6%

The stock has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 78.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $28.65 and a 200 day moving average of $37.39.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.46). The business had revenue of $308.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $301.30 million. Upstart had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 5.63%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 44.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Upstart Holdings, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upstart declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 19th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upstart

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UPST. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Upstart by 154.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,206,615 shares of the company's stock worth $183,955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,554,591 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Upstart during the fourth quarter worth about $49,915,000. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Upstart by 253.3% during the first quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. now owns 1,467,360 shares of the company's stock worth $37,638,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052,039 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Upstart during the fourth quarter worth about $38,580,000. Finally, Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Upstart by 22.6% during the third quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,480,809 shares of the company's stock worth $227,625,000 after buying an additional 826,974 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company's stock.

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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