Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Shares Down 12% on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) saw its share price drop 12% after Bank of America downgraded its rating and cut the price target from $88.00 to $87.00.
• In the latest trading session, Upstart traded as low as $73.50, marking a significant drop from its previous closing price of $82.62.
• Shares of Upstart experienced a 37% decline in trading volume, with 3,816,807 shares changing hands compared to the average of 6,103,875 shares.

Shares of Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) traded down 12% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $88.00 to $87.00. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Upstart traded as low as $73.50 and last traded at $72.73. 3,816,807 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 6,103,875 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.62.

Several other research analysts have also commented on UPST. Piper Sandler raised Upstart to an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Upstart from $70.00 to $50.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Upstart to a "sell" rating and set a $71.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Upstart in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Upstart from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Natalia Mirgorodskaya sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.07, for a total transaction of $320,280.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 24,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,971,563.61. This represents a 13.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 13,512 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.97, for a total transaction of $634,658.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 311,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,624,391.32. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 151,650 shares of company stock valued at $9,665,841 over the last quarter. 16.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Upstart by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,009,116 shares of the company's stock worth $129,965,000 after acquiring an additional 73,582 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Upstart by 17.1% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,284 shares of the company's stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Upstart by 839.3% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,625 shares of the company's stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Upstart by 9.2% during the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 739,261 shares of the company's stock worth $47,815,000 after purchasing an additional 62,212 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Upstart by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 782 shares during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Upstart Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of -874.49 and a beta of 2.39. The business's 50-day moving average is $68.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.17.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $257.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $225.35 million. Upstart had a negative return on equity of 5.95% and a negative net margin of 0.75%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 101.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Upstart Holdings, Inc. will post -0.03 EPS for the current year.

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.