Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Shares Down 8.3% – Time to Sell?

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST)’s share price dropped 8.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $56.92 and last traded at $56.55. Approximately 2,909,082 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 6,327,110 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Upstart from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price (up from $85.00) on shares of Upstart in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their target price on Upstart from $87.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Upstart from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $57.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Upstart from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.38.

Upstart Price Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of -40.59 and a beta of 2.25.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Upstart Holdings, Inc. will post -0.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dave Girouard sold 41,667 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.60, for a total value of $2,608,354.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 57,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,576,838.80. This represents a 42.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Natalia Mirgorodskaya sold 794 shares of Upstart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.02, for a total value of $62,741.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,737,254.70. This trade represents a 3.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 79,081 shares of company stock worth $5,548,607 over the last 90 days. 18.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upstart

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in Upstart by 190.2% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,709,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,242,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120,300 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Upstart by 300.2% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,061,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,357,000 after acquiring an additional 796,252 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its position in shares of Upstart by 153.2% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,246,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,886,000 after purchasing an additional 754,416 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Upstart in the 4th quarter worth $43,697,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Upstart by 886.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 709,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,695,000 after purchasing an additional 637,706 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is 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.