Upstart Stock Was Down — Now It's Up: What's Going On?

Upstart Holdings Inc UPST shares fell after the close on Tuesday on weak guidance, but the stock is bouncing back Wednesday morning as analysts move in different directions following the print.

• Q4 Revenue: $147 million beat estimates of $133.59 million
• Q4 EPS: $(0.25) beat estimates of $(0.47)

"Despite the economic headwinds of 2022 and continued funding challenges that have impacted our financial results, we're a much better company than we were a year ago. We begin the new year with more advanced technology, faster AI model development, dramatically more training data, and a strengthened leadership team," said Dave Girouard, co-founder and CEO of Upstart.

Loan volume was down 62% on a year-over-year basis in the fourth quarter. Conversion rates came in at 11%, down from 24% year-over-year.

Upstart sees first-quarter revenue of approximately $100 million versus estimates of $157.99 million. The company anticipates revenue from fees to total $110 million, offset by a net interest income loss of approximately $10 million.

Analyst Assessment: Multiple firms are out with updates on Upstart shares following the company's quarterly results.

• Piper Sandler analyst Arvind Ramnani reiterated Upstart with a Neutral rating and maintained a $16 price target.
• Citigroup analyst Peter Christiansen downgraded Upstart from Neutral to Sell and lowered the price target from $17 to $11.
• According to Benzinga Pro, Loop Capital upgraded Upstart and set a $24 price target, but the adjustment has not yet been confirmed. 

See Also: US Retail Sales Jump 3% In January As Inflation Continues To Fall: What Investors Need To Know

UPST Price Action: Upstart has a 52-week high of $161 and a 52-week low of $12.01, according to Benzinga Pro.

The stock was halted ahead of the earnings release and then fell more than 5% shortly after before reversing course Wednesday morning.

Upstart shares are up 7.12% at $18.05 at time of publication.

Photo: Daniel Agrelo from Pixabay.