Upstart Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:UPST)

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 25,245 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 13% compared to the typical daily volume of 22,304 call options.

Upstart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Upstart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Upstart reported second-quarter revenue of approximately $365 million, up 42% year over year and ahead of Wall Street expectations. Loan originations increased 50%, while the company achieved record contribution profit and returned to GAAP profitability. Upstart Loan Originations Jump 50% as It Preps Bank Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Management reaffirmed full-year 2026 revenue guidance of roughly $1.4 billion and highlighted continued funding momentum, including more than $4 billion in newly committed capital. The company is also preparing to launch Upstart Bank after receiving conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which could simplify its funding and operating structure.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their expectations following the results. Piper Sandler increased its price target to $51 and assigned an “overweight” rating, Needham raised its target to $42 and initiated a “buy” rating, and BTIG reaffirmed its “buy” rating with a $43 target. These targets imply substantial upside from recent trading levels. Analyst Rating Updates
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings figures reported by data providers were inconsistent: some cited adjusted EPS of $0.59, above the $0.58 consensus, while another report listed EPS of $0.16 versus a $0.19 estimate. Investors are therefore likely to focus more heavily on originations, contribution profit, funding availability, and forward guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite revenue growth, Upstart remains exposed to macroeconomic and credit-market conditions. Some company insiders have sold shares in recent months, and institutional ownership changes were mixed, potentially tempering enthusiasm around the rally.

Upstart Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:UPST traded up $0.77 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.09. The stock had a trading volume of 8,347,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,789,451. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.94, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 2.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.58. Upstart has a fifty-two week low of $23.97 and a fifty-two week high of $80.50.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $364.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.29 million. Upstart had a return on equity of 5.63% and a net margin of 4.34%.The firm’s revenue was up 41.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Upstart will post 0.92 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UPST. Truist Financial set a $40.00 price target on Upstart in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. B. Riley Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Upstart from $66.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Upstart in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Upstart from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Upstart from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Natalia Mirgorodskaya sold 974 shares of Upstart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total transaction of $28,236.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 37,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,083,472.26. The trade was a 2.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Paul Gu bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.50 per share, for a total transaction of $1,375,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 70,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,925,000. This represents a 250.00% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,346 shares of company stock worth $991,672. 17.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upstart

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Upstart in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Upstart by 749.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Upstart by 132.2% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 771 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Upstart in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Upstart in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Upstart Company Profile

Upstart Holdings, Inc operates a cloud-based lending marketplace that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to assess borrower creditworthiness. The company partners with banks and credit unions, providing its proprietary AI models and underwriting platform to facilitate consumer credit products. By focusing on non‐traditional data points—such as education, employment history and other real‐time indicators—Upstart seeks to improve approval rates and lower loss rates compared with conventional credit scoring methods.

Upstart’s core offering centers on unsecured personal loans, which borrowers can use for purposes such as debt consolidation, home improvements or major purchases.