BTIG Research Reaffirms Buy Rating for Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST)

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by stock analysts at BTIG Research in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $43.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research’s target price indicates a potential upside of 75.87% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on UPST. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Upstart from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Upstart in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Upstart from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Upstart from $80.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Upstart from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.75.

Upstart Stock Down 5.9%

Shares of UPST opened at $24.45 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 49.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 2.16. Upstart has a 12-month low of $23.97 and a 12-month high of $64.15.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.02). Upstart had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 4.84%.The firm had revenue of $364.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $354.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Upstart will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Sanjay Datta sold 116,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.29, for a total transaction of $3,165,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 476,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,813.62. This represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrea Blankmeyer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.33, for a total transaction of $87,990.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 152,208 shares in the company, valued at $4,464,260.64. This trade represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 148,652 shares of company stock worth $4,133,720. 17.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UPST. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Upstart during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Upstart in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Upstart by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Upstart by 274.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Upstart during the 2nd quarter worth about $67,000. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Upstart Company Profile

Upstart Holdings, Inc is a financial technology company that operates an artificial intelligence-powered lending marketplace. Its platform connects consumers seeking credit with banks and credit unions, using alternative data and machine-learning models alongside traditional credit information to help lending partners evaluate applicants and originate loans.

The company’s offerings include technology for personal lending, auto lending and home equity lending. Upstart provides tools that support the application, underwriting and loan-origination process, while participating financial institutions generally fund and service the loans.