Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Hits New 52-Week Low After Insider Selling

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during 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 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 directly owned 276,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,261,903.68. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on UPST. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Upstart from $59.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market underperform” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Upstart in a report on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Upstart in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Upstart in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Upstart from $80.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Upstart has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.50.

Upstart Trading Up 3.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.00, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 2.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.55.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.02. Upstart had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 5.13%.The firm had revenue of $296.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $288.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Upstart Holdings, Inc. will post -0.03 EPS for the current year.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upstart

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Upstart by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Upstart by 1.8% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Upstart by 3.0% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Upstart by 29.1% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC increased its position in Upstart by 5.3% in the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 5,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

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.