The stock price of Upstart (NASDAQ: UPST), a cloud-based artificial intelligence lending platform in the U.S., has risen a solid 35% in a month. Much of this move came after it announced a better than anticipated quarterly performance on November 7.
Upstart (UPST) has been upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), reflecting growing optimism about the company's earnings prospects. This might drive the stock higher in the near term.
Upstart reported a strong quarter, but there's more to the story.
Recently, Zacks.com users have been paying close attention to Upstart (UPST). This makes it worthwhile to examine what the stock has in store.
Upstart uses artificial intelligence to make lending decisions.
BTIG upgraded Upstart to Neutral from Sell without a price target. The firm acknowledges that the company's volumes are likely to accelerate further from here, which it says is the key catalyst for the shares into 2025. While not bullish on Upstart shares, BTIG is using a "bull-case scenario" for the stock of significant revenue growth, while holding the line on expenses. Even with this bull-case scenario, it arrives at a valuation that would only justify Upstart as a Neutral rating.
Upstart's Q3 earnings exceeded expectations, driven by strong demand for personal and auto loans, resulting in a 46% surge in share price and a $2.2B market cap increase. The fintech's revenue grew 27% quarter-over-quarter, with decent improvements in key metrics like conversion rates and automated credit decisions. Despite a positive outlook for Q4 and favorable interest rate conditions, Upstart's valuation has become too high, prompting me to take profits.
Upstart Holdings has shown improved operating momentum in Q3, with a 43% increase in lending volume and positive adjusted EBITDA, but remains a risky investment. The company's AI lending models are still in a validation phase and have not been tested in an economic recession, raising concerns about long-term sustainability. Upstart's reliance on funding partners and high EV/revenue multiple (10x) compared to peers (3.4x) suggests its current valuation may be overvalued.
Wall Street applauded results from fintech companies Upstart and Toast. Both companies reported better-than-expected quarterly results.
Although the revenue and EPS for Upstart (UPST) give a sense of how its business performed in the quarter ended September 2024, it might be worth considering how some key metrics compare with Wall Street estimates and the year-ago numbers.
Upstart's earnings show the company is firmly back in growth mode.
Piper Sandler analyst Arvind Ramnani upgraded Upstart Holdings, Inc. UPST to Overweight from Neutral, raising the price forecast to $85 from $31.