Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) gapped up before the market opened 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 traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on UPST shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Upstart from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Upstart from $15.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Upstart from $87.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Upstart from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Upstart from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.96.

Upstart Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of -37.21 and a beta of 2.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $45.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.74.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $213.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.08 million. Upstart had a negative net margin of 20.20% and a negative return on equity of 25.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 67.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.31) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Upstart Holdings, Inc. will post -0.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Natalia Mirgorodskaya sold 764 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $35,877.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,963 shares in the company, valued at $1,219,222.48. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 13,512 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.97, for a total transaction of $634,658.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 311,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,624,391.32. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,116 shares of company stock valued at $753,211. Corporate insiders own 16.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upstart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Upstart during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC bought a new position in Upstart in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Upstart by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in Upstart in the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Upstart by 49.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Upstart

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.