Upstart Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:UPST)

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 120,071 call options on the company. This is an increase of 59% compared to the average daily volume of 75,643 call options.

Upstart Stock Up 46.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UPST opened at $81.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.50 and a beta of 1.97. Upstart has a 12-month low of $19.84 and a 12-month high of $82.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $43.81 and its 200 day moving average is $32.99.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.22. Upstart had a negative return on equity of 32.01% and a negative net margin of 38.05%. The firm had revenue of $127.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.34) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Upstart will post -2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upstart

In other Upstart news, insider Scott Darling sold 84,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total transaction of $4,201,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 152,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,605,190.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Scott Darling sold 84,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total value of $4,201,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 152,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,605,190.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.81, for a total value of $80,715.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 335,593 shares in the company, valued at $18,058,259.33. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 312,959 shares of company stock valued at $13,724,175. 18.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upstart

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Anfield Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Upstart during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Upstart in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co bought a new position in Upstart in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Upstart in the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPST has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Upstart from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler raised Upstart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $85.00 in a report on Friday. Mizuho boosted their target price on Upstart from $33.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Upstart in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Upstart from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $87.00 in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.83.

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.