Investors Buy Large Volume of Upstart Put Options (NASDAQ:UPST)

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 93,583 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 185% compared to the typical daily volume of 32,826 put options.

Upstart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UPST traded down $1.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $26.77. The company had a trading volume of 4,652,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,189,803. The company has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 63.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.44. Upstart has a one year low of $25.60 and a one year high of $87.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.00.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.02. Upstart had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The firm had revenue of $296.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $288.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Upstart will post -0.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upstart announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Upstart

In other Upstart news, Director Kerry Whorton Cooper sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $75,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,196,700. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 7,982 shares of Upstart stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.86, for a total value of $238,342.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 276,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,261,903.68. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 10,981 shares of company stock valued at $357,201 in the last 90 days. 16.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upstart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EMC Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Upstart by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 11,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Rare Wolf Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upstart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $616,000. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC bought a new position in Upstart during the 4th quarter valued at about $752,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Upstart by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 45,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,975,000 after buying an additional 13,205 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upstart in the 4th quarter worth $380,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Upstart

Here are the key news stories impacting Upstart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Upstart announced plans to apply for an insured national bank charter (Upstart Bank, N.A.) and to seek bank holding company status — a move that could give Upstart access to low-cost deposit funding, expand margins and reduce funding dependence on third parties. Upstart to Apply for National Bank Charter
• Positive Sentiment: KBRA assigned preliminary ratings to notes in Upstart Securitization Trust 2026-1 (a ~$292M ABS), signaling continued access to capital markets and sustained loan originations through the platform. This supports revenue growth and funding diversity. KBRA Assigns Preliminary Ratings to Upstart Securitization Trust 2026-1
• Positive Sentiment: Needham & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40 price target — signaling analyst confidence and providing headline support for upside versus current levels. Read More
• Neutral Sentiment: Market reports noted the stock “popped” after the close on the bank-charter news, reflecting immediate positive sentiment but not necessarily a change to the company’s underlying credit or profitability profile. Upstart stock pops after the close
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large options activity: traders bought ~93,583 put contracts (a ~185% increase vs. average). Heavy put buying can indicate market participants hedging or speculating on further downside, increasing near-term volatility and downward pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP opened an investor investigation into Upstart, a potential precursor to litigation that raises legal/financial risk and could weigh on sentiment until resolved. Investor Alert: Pomerantz Investigates UPST

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on UPST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Upstart from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $44.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Upstart in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Upstart in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered Upstart from a “buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a “market underperform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Upstart in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Upstart presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.17.

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.