Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Shares Up 8% – Still a Buy?

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) shares shot up 8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $40.09 and last traded at $37.60. 4,878,647 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 6,428,740 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on UPST shares. B. Riley upgraded Upstart from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $49.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Upstart from $13.50 to $15.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Upstart from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Upstart from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $57.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Upstart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upstart presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.38.

Upstart Stock Up 8.6 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $60.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.67. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.88 and a beta of 2.39.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. Upstart had a negative net margin of 20.20% and a negative return on equity of 25.87%. Analysts predict that Upstart Holdings, Inc. will post -0.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 16,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.02, for a total value of $1,269,851.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 295,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,353,333.74. The trade was a 5.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dave Girouard sold 4,524 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.01, for a total transaction of $357,441.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 52,614 shares in the company, valued at $4,157,032.14. This represents a 7.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 75,062 shares of company stock valued at $5,247,182 over the last 90 days. 18.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upstart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Upstart by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Upstart by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. increased its position in shares of Upstart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 38,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,386,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Upstart by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Upstart by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 5,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by 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.