Upstart Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:UPST)

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 106,060 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 56% compared to the typical daily volume of 68,197 call options.

Upstart Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of UPST stock opened at $40.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.40 and a beta of 2.03. Upstart has a fifty-two week low of $19.84 and a fifty-two week high of $49.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.68.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.22. Upstart had a negative net margin of 38.05% and a negative return on equity of 32.01%. The firm had revenue of $127.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $124.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.34) EPS. Upstart’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Upstart will post -2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $27,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 374,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,408,264.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Upstart news, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total value of $27,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 374,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,408,264.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Paul Gu sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.52, for a total transaction of $117,600.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 894,629 shares in the company, valued at $21,041,674.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 160,959 shares of company stock valued at $6,042,324. 18.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upstart

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPST. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Upstart by 0.7% during the second quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 59,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,392,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Upstart by 18.2% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Upstart by 4.2% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Upstart by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 16,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Upstart by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on UPST. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Upstart from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $22.50 to $25.50 in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Upstart in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Upstart in a report on Thursday, August 8th. BTIG Research began coverage on Upstart in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Upstart from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $33.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upstart has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.75.

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.