Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Reaches New 12-Month Low on Insider Selling

Shares of Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $26.80 and last traded at $28.14, with a volume of 4251041 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $27.26.

Specifically, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 7,982 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.86, for a total value of $238,342.52. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Upstart from $88.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Upstart in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Upstart from $80.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Stephens reduced their price objective on Upstart from $55.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Upstart from $81.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.50.

Upstart Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.40. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 67.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.38.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last released 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. Upstart had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The firm had revenue of $296.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $288.54 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Upstart Holdings, Inc. will post -0.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Upstart announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 19th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upstart

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Upstart by 89.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 96,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,451,000 after purchasing an additional 45,664 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in Upstart by 13.8% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Upstart by 20.0% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Upstart by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 173,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,964,000 after purchasing an additional 27,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upstart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $208,000. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.