Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Shares Down 8.1% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) were down 8.1% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $28.03 and last traded at $28.1210. Approximately 1,880,740 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 4,758,962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.60.

Specifically, CFO Andrea Blankmeyer sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.33, for a total transaction of $87,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 152,208 shares in the company, valued at $4,464,260.64. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Andrea Blankmeyer sold 7,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.36, for a total transaction of $210,658.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 155,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,556,906.88. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In related news, insider Sanjay Datta sold 2,033 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.36, for a total transaction of $59,688.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 311,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,146,315.28. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Upstart from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Truist Financial set a $40.00 price target on shares of Upstart in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Upstart from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Upstart from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Upstart from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.40.

Upstart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Upstart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Planned Upstart Bank adds a potential growth catalyst. CEO Paul Gu said Upstart expects to launch Upstart Bank early next year. Management believes the bank could improve access to funding, support expansion into secured products such as home and auto loans, and give Upstart greater control over its lending platform. Upstart plans to launch Upstart Bank
• Positive Sentiment: Fintech stocks rebounded broadly. Upstart advanced alongside SoFi Technologies and Affirm Holdings as investors rotated into higher-beta fintech names amid a bond-market catalyst. With a beta of 2.29, UPST can be particularly sensitive to shifts in market sentiment and interest-rate expectations. Fintech names rebound with bond-market catalyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent insider selling appears administrative. CFO Andrea Blankmeyer sold 10,175 shares in transactions totaling roughly $299,000, while insider Sanjay Datta sold 2,033 shares for about $59,700. The sales were made under a Rule 10b5-1 plan or to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards, and both executives retained sizable positions.
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and valuation risks remain. Upstart’s latest quarterly revenue rose 41.9% year over year to $364.7 million, but EPS of $0.16 missed the $0.18 consensus estimate. Analysts also view rival SoFi as having stronger profitability and deposit funding. Upstart’s consensus rating is “Hold,” which may temper enthusiasm until its bank strategy produces sustainable profits. SoFi versus Upstart analysis

Upstart Stock Down 8.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 2.29. The business’s 50-day moving average is $30.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.37.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.02). Upstart had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 7.13%. The company had revenue of $364.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $354.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. Upstart’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Upstart Holdings, Inc. will post 0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upstart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Upstart by 749.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Upstart in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Upstart by 132.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 771 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Upstart during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Upstart during the 2nd quarter valued at about $61,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Upstart

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.