The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Stock

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) had its target price raised by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $13.50 to $15.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sell” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target points to a potential downside of 82.77% from the stock’s previous close.

UPST has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Upstart in a research report on Wednesday. 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 report on Wednesday. B. Riley raised Upstart from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday. BTIG Research raised shares of Upstart from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Upstart from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.08.

Upstart Price Performance

Upstart stock traded up $19.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $87.05. 22,087,564 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,046,908. The business’s 50-day moving average is $67.49 and its 200-day moving average is $54.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a PE ratio of -45.27 and a beta of 2.25. Upstart has a 12-month low of $20.60 and a 12-month high of $89.47.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. Upstart had a negative net margin of 30.15% and a negative return on equity of 32.57%. Equities analysts anticipate that Upstart will post -2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Paul Gu sold 87,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.39, for a total value of $6,078,564.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 863,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,888,080.35. This trade represents a 9.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dave Girouard sold 41,667 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $2,725,438.47. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,512 shares in the company, valued at $4,023,499.92. The trade was a 40.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 347,868 shares of company stock worth $24,056,862 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 18.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UPST. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Upstart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Upstart during the third quarter worth $35,000. BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of Upstart in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Upstart by 125.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new stake in Upstart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. 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.