Upstart Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:UPST)

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 44,446 call options on the company. This is an increase of 156% compared to the average volume of 17,356 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Natalia Mirgorodskaya sold 913 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.03, for a total transaction of $27,417.39. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,875 shares in the company, valued at $1,077,326.25. This trade represents a 2.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrea Blankmeyer sold 7,175 shares of Upstart stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.36, for a total transaction of $210,658.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 155,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,556,906.88. The trade was a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders sold a total of 148,652 shares of company stock valued at $4,133,720 over the last three months. 17.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upstart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Maxi Investments CY Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Upstart in the second quarter worth $6,852,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Upstart during the second quarter valued at $2,589,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Upstart during the second quarter valued at $1,557,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Upstart in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,385,000. Finally, Odyssean LLC raised its stake in Upstart by 124.0% in the 2nd quarter. Odyssean LLC now owns 80,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 44,510 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Upstart Trading Down 7.4%

UPST stock traded down $1.71 on Monday, hitting $21.31. The company had a trading volume of 12,207,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,645,611. Upstart has a 12-month low of $20.97 and a 12-month high of $52.10. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.02. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 2.48.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $364.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $354.74 million. Upstart had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 4.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Upstart will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UPST. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market underperform” rating on shares of Upstart in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Upstart from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Upstart from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Upstart in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Upstart in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Upstart currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.94.

About Upstart

Upstart Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: UPST) operates an artificial intelligence-powered lending marketplace. Its platform connects consumers seeking credit with banks and credit unions, using data-driven underwriting models designed to evaluate applicants beyond traditional credit-score-based methods.

The company provides technology for several lending categories, including personal loans, automotive retail and refinance lending, home equity lines of credit, and small-dollar lending. Upstart’s platform supports financial institutions with application processing, risk assessment, loan origination, and related automation, while offering consumers a digital borrowing experience.

Founded in 2012, Upstart is headquartered in San Mateo, California, and primarily serves the United States.