Upstart Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:UPST)

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 25,245 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 13% compared to the average volume of 22,304 call options.

Upstart Stock Performance

UPST traded up $0.77 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,347,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,789,451. Upstart has a 52-week low of $23.97 and a 52-week high of $80.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $31.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.58. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 2.29.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.03). The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Upstart will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Upstart

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on UPST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Upstart from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. B. Riley Financial lowered their target price on Upstart from $66.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Upstart from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial set a $40.00 target price on Upstart in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Upstart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Upstart presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.40.

Insider Activity at Upstart

In other Upstart news, Director Dave Girouard acquired 170,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $29.37 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,948.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 8,512,941 shares in the company, valued at $250,025,077.17. This trade represents a 2.04% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrea Blankmeyer sold 7,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.63, for a total transaction of $208,713.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 162,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,811,408.29. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 33,346 shares of company stock worth $991,672 in the last three months. Company insiders own 17.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UPST. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Upstart by 103.5% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 421,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,427,000 after purchasing an additional 214,279 shares in the last quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Upstart by 102.2% during the fourth quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. now owns 415,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,162,000 after buying an additional 209,915 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel purchased a new stake in Upstart during the fourth quarter worth about $10,415,000. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in Upstart during the fourth quarter worth about $38,580,000. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new position in Upstart during the fourth quarter worth about $33,188,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

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.