Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Shares Down 9.4% – Here’s Why

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST)’s stock price traded down 9.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $71.30 and last traded at $71.77. 4,549,777 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 6,229,057 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Upstart from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on Upstart from $87.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Upstart from $80.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised Upstart from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $12.00 to $70.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, B. Riley raised Upstart from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.38.

Upstart Stock Down 9.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of -49.16 and a beta of 2.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.80.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kerry Whorton Cooper sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.59, for a total value of $37,295.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,339,710.99. This trade represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Paul Gu sold 58,786 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.93, for a total value of $4,463,620.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 863,065 shares in the company, valued at $65,532,525.45. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 193,983 shares of company stock worth $13,598,414. Corporate insiders own 18.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Upstart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Upstart by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. grew its stake in shares of Upstart by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 38,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,386,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Upstart by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Upstart by 5.1% in the third quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 5,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

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.