Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Upstart from a "strong sell" to a "hold," and the stock carries a consensus Hold rating with an average analyst price target of $48.00 (analyst mix: 6 Buy, 7 Hold, 3 Sell).
• Upstart beat Q4 estimates with $0.17 EPS and $296.1M revenue (revenue +35.2% YoY) and announced a $100 million share repurchase program (~3.2% of shares); the stock opened Monday near $29.53 and was trading up about 5.2%.
• Several plaintiff law firms have filed or solicited class-action suits alleging securities-law violations and highlighting lead‑plaintiff deadlines, creating material legal and settlement risk that could weigh on the stock.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho lowered their target price on Upstart from $66.00 to $51.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market underperform" rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Upstart in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Upstart from $59.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Compass Point raised shares of Upstart from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Upstart in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Upstart currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.00.

Upstart Trading Up 5.2%

NASDAQ:UPST opened at $29.53 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $28.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.99. Upstart has a 12 month low of $23.97 and a 12 month high of $87.30. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.16.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $296.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $288.54 million. Upstart had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Upstart will post -0.03 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 repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upstart

In related news, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 7,982 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.86, for a total transaction of $238,342.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 276,688 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,261,903.68. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 9,481 shares of company stock worth $282,201 over the last ninety days. 16.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UPST. Clearstead Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upstart in the third quarter worth $25,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Upstart in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Upstart by 749.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Upstart by 132.2% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 771 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upstart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Upstart

Here are the key news stories impacting Upstart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bullish AI thesis and product roadmap: a Fool profile highlights Upstart’s AI lending franchise and its plan to launch an AI-powered bank, framing the company as a high-upside AI play. This narrative can support upside interest from growth/AI investors. Prediction: This Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Is Going to Double Before 2026 Is Over
• Positive Sentiment: Recent short-term buying/price momentum: coverage from Yahoo Finance/Zacks notes recent intraday gains and the stock trending higher, which can attract momentum traders. Upstart Beats Stock Market Upswing
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and retail interest pieces: Zacks mentions UPST as a trending stock among its users, increasing visibility but not providing new fundamental catalysts. Here Is What to Know Beyond Why Upstart Is a Trending Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative fintech coverage: The Motley Fool piece comparing SoFi and Upstart frames Upstart as cyclical and interest-rate sensitive—useful context for investors but not an immediate price catalyst. SoFi vs. Upstart: Which Fintech Stock Is the Better Long-Term Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple class-action filings/solicitations: Several plaintiff law firms (Robbins LLP, Rosen Law, Berger Montague, Schall, DJS, Bernstein Liebhard, Faruqi & Faruqi, etc.) have announced suits or solicitations alleging securities-law claims for investors who bought UPST between May 14, 2025 and Nov 4, 2025. Widespread litigation outreach increases legal and settlement risk and tends to weigh on valuation/volatility. Robbins LLP Notice
• Negative Sentiment: Lead‑plaintiff deadlines and coordination risk: several firms are seeking lead‑plaintiff appointments with a common class period, and deadlines (notably June 8, 2026) have been highlighted—this can accelerate filings and publicity, further pressuring the stock. Faruqi & Faruqi Deadline Alert
• Negative Sentiment: Formal allegations of securities law violations: some notices (e.g., DJS Law Group, Schall Law, Rosen) explicitly allege 10(b)/20(a) and Rule 10b‑5 violations—these claims, if litigated, create potential for material legal costs and settlement exposure. DJS Law Group Notice

About Upstart

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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