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

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) had its target price raised by stock 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 firm presently has a “sell” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price indicates a potential downside of 82.18% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on UPST. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Upstart from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Upstart from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Upstart from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $57.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised shares of Upstart from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective (up from $85.00) on shares of Upstart in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.83.

Upstart Stock Performance

Shares of UPST opened at $84.16 on Wednesday. Upstart has a 52 week low of $20.60 and a 52 week high of $96.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.61 and a beta of 2.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.82.

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

Insider Activity

In other Upstart news, CEO Dave Girouard sold 4,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.79, for a total value of $305,261.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 57,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,987,661.02. This trade represents a 7.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 18,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.82, for a total transaction of $1,299,978.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 310,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,712,204.68. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 241,201 shares of company stock valued at $17,003,724 over the last three months. 18.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upstart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Upstart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Upstart in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Upstart by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new position in Upstart in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Upstart by 125.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.