Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $52.87, but opened at $51.14. Upstart shares last traded at $50.59, with a volume of 1,299,008 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on UPST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Upstart from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $57.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Upstart in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Upstart from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their target price on Upstart from $80.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded Upstart from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.38.

Upstart Stock Down 3.7 %

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.13. The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.39 and a beta of 2.25.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. Upstart had a negative net margin of 20.20% and a negative return on equity of 25.87%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Upstart Holdings, Inc. will post -0.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 16,070 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.02, for a total transaction of $1,269,851.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 295,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,353,333.74. This trade represents a 5.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Paul Gu sold 12,007 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.02, for a total transaction of $948,793.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 1,006,599 shares in the company, valued at $79,541,452.98. The trade was a 1.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 75,062 shares of company stock worth $5,247,182 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 18.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upstart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UPST. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Upstart by 190.2% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,709,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,242,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120,300 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Upstart by 300.2% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,061,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,357,000 after purchasing an additional 796,252 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its stake in Upstart by 153.2% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,246,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,886,000 after purchasing an additional 754,416 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Upstart during the fourth quarter worth $43,697,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Upstart by 886.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 709,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,695,000 after buying an additional 637,706 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.