Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $49.70, but opened at $47.89. Upstart shares last traded at $49.16, with a volume of 668,942 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush upped their price objective on Upstart from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Upstart from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays increased their target price on Upstart from $80.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. B. Riley raised Upstart from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $49.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Upstart from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $57.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Upstart currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.38.

Upstart Trading Up 1.5 %

The company has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of -34.54 and a beta of 2.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $64.20 and a 200-day moving average of $59.51.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Upstart Holdings, Inc. will post -0.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Natalia Mirgorodskaya sold 794 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.02, for a total value of $62,741.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,985 shares in the company, valued at $1,737,254.70. This trade represents a 3.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 16,070 shares of Upstart stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.02, for a total value of $1,269,851.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 295,537 shares in the company, valued at $23,353,333.74. This trade represents a 5.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 75,062 shares of company stock worth $5,247,182 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 18.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upstart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Upstart during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upstart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Upstart in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in shares of Upstart in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Upstart during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.