Traders Purchase Large Volume of Upstart Call Options (NASDAQ:UPST)

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 56,434 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 36% compared to the typical volume of 41,392 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Upstart from $81.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” 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 report on Wednesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Upstart from $88.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Upstart in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 price target on Upstart in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.90.

Upstart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UPST opened at $30.19 on Friday. Upstart has a 1 year low of $29.91 and a 1 year high of $96.43. The firm has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.88 and a beta of 2.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.60.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $296.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $288.54 million. Upstart had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Upstart will post -0.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Upstart

In related news, insider Natalia Mirgorodskaya sold 762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.91, for a total value of $29,649.42. Following the sale, the insider owned 26,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,027,146.18. This trade represents a 2.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 13,624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.58, for a total value of $498,365.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 284,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,398,962.40. This represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,707 shares of company stock worth $633,080. 16.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upstart

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Upstart by 1,116.8% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 89,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,800,000 after buying an additional 82,305 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upstart during the second quarter valued at approximately $991,000. Tableaux LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upstart in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,587,000. Sepio Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Upstart by 42.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 256,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,565,000 after acquiring an additional 75,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Upstart by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 89,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,785,000 after purchasing an additional 21,140 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Upstart

Here are the key news stories impacting Upstart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Needham reaffirmed its “buy” rating and kept a $56 price target, signaling continued analyst conviction in the company’s long‑term story. Needham Reaffirms Buy on UPST
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy options activity with a large block of call purchases (56,434 calls) suggests some traders are speculating on a near‑term bounce or event-driven move. Upstart Target of Unusually High Options Trading
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released the Q4 earnings presentation and related slides — useful for digging into segment metrics, margin walk and funding assumptions but not new guidance by itself. Q4 Results Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and outlets are parsing key Q4 metrics vs. estimates (revenue beat but EPS/margins weaker) — informative for modeling but mixed in directional signal. Zacks: Q4 Key Metrics vs Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Upstart reported a small EPS miss (adjusted $0.46 vs. $0.47 est.) and shares gapped lower on the earnings shock and weaker margin signals. Stock Gaps Lower After Earnings Whiff
• Negative Sentiment: CEO discussed Q4 results and said he plans to step down — management transition risks and execution questions amplify near‑term uncertainty. CEO Discusses Q4, Plans to Step Down
• Negative Sentiment: 2026 margin guidance disappointed investors and raised concerns about the company’s ability to execute on funding and cost assumptions, triggering further downside pressure. Margin Guidance Disappoints
• Negative Sentiment: TipRanks flagged rising data‑privacy compliance risks and higher legal/exposure costs under tightening laws — a structural headwind that could pressure margins and increase regulatory oversight. Rising Data Privacy Risks
• Negative Sentiment: Truist cut its price target from $59 to $49 (still a “buy”), signaling lowered expectations on the company’s near‑term performance. Truist Lowers Price Target

About Upstart

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.