Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.38.

A number of research firms have weighed in on UPST. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Upstart from $13.50 to $15.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Upstart from $80.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Upstart from $87.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. B. Riley upgraded Upstart from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $49.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Upstart from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $57.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upstart

In other Upstart news, CEO Dave Girouard sold 4,524 shares of Upstart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.01, for a total transaction of $357,441.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,614 shares in the company, valued at $4,157,032.14. This trade represents a 7.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 16,070 shares of Upstart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.02, for a total transaction of $1,269,851.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 295,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,353,333.74. This represents a 5.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,062 shares of company stock worth $5,247,182 over the last three months. Insiders own 18.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upstart

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Upstart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,900,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Upstart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Upstart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $493,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Upstart by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 145,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,973,000 after buying an additional 35,315 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Fund Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Upstart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 63.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Upstart Stock Performance

Shares of UPST opened at $48.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.43. Upstart has a one year low of $20.60 and a one year high of $96.43. The stock has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.25 and a beta of 2.25.

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

About Upstart

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.