Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Receives “Buy” Rating from BTIG Research

BTIG Research reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $43.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on UPST. Citigroup downgraded Upstart from a “buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Upstart from $66.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Upstart from $59.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market underperform” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Upstart in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Upstart in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Upstart presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.00.

Upstart Price Performance

Shares of UPST opened at $27.41 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.26, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 2.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.94. Upstart has a 12 month low of $23.97 and a 12 month high of $87.30.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $296.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $288.54 million. Upstart had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 5.13%.The firm’s revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Upstart will post -0.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Upstart declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 19th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Upstart

In other Upstart news, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 7,982 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.86, for a total transaction of $238,342.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 276,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,261,903.68. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,481 shares of company stock worth $282,201. Insiders own 16.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clearstead Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upstart in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Upstart in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Upstart by 749.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Upstart by 132.2% in the third 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 period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upstart in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Upstart

Here are the key news stories impacting Upstart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $43 price target, implying substantial upside vs. the current level; this analyst support can help limit near-term downside and attract buyers. BTIG/coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Industry coverage highlights Upstart expanding credit-union partnerships and securing funding deals to accelerate loan growth — a potential revenue and volume driver if adoption of its AI lending platform scales. Zacks: Credit union expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm and others are soliciting potential lead plaintiffs and reminding investors of filing deadlines (lead-plaintiff motion deadline noted as June 8, 2026) — procedural updates that shape how litigation develops but do not, by themselves, quantify exposure. Rosen/Pomerantz notice
• Negative Sentiment: A cluster of class-action lawsuits and investor-alerts has been filed/announced by multiple law firms (Pomerantz, Bragar Eagel & Squire, Berger Montague, Holzer & Holzer, Robbins, Bernstein Liebhard, DJS, Kirby McInerney, Schall, etc.), alleging misleading statements about Upstart’s AI Model 22 performance, over/under‑stating approval accuracy, and unreliable FY‑2025 guidance — allegations that raise potential regulatory, financial and reputational risk. Holzer & Holzer complaint summary Pomerantz filing

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.