Upstart Holdings, Inc. $UPST Shares Bought by Halter Ferguson Financial Inc.

Posted by Geri Gentry on May 15th, 2026

Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST – Free Report) by 102.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 415,321 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 209,915 shares during the quarter. Upstart comprises about 4.0% of Halter Ferguson Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc.’s holdings in Upstart were worth $18,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Upstart during the third quarter worth $4,237,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Upstart by 71.5% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 550,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,947,000 after purchasing an additional 229,315 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Upstart by 31.5% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 971,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,370,000 after purchasing an additional 232,595 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Upstart by 1,066.4% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 147,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,484,000 after purchasing an additional 134,686 shares during the period. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Upstart in the third quarter worth $3,218,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Upstart from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Upstart from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market underperform” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Upstart in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Compass Point raised shares of Upstart from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, B. Riley Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Upstart from $66.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.79.

Get Our Latest Analysis on UPST

Upstart Price Performance

UPST opened at $29.71 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $28.68 and its 200 day moving average is $37.23. Upstart Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.97 and a fifty-two week high of $87.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.18, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.26.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.46). Upstart had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 5.63%. The firm had revenue of $308.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $301.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Upstart Holdings, Inc. will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Upstart announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Upstart

In other news, CEO Paul Gu purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.50 per share, with a total value of $1,375,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 70,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,925,000. This trade represents a 250.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 7,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.86, for a total transaction of $238,342.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 276,688 shares in the company, valued at $8,261,903.68. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 9,481 shares of company stock valued at $282,201 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 16.67% of the company’s stock.

More Upstart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Upstart this week:

Positive Sentiment: CEO Paul Gu disclosed a purchase of 50,000 shares at $27.50 each, boosting his direct stake by 250%. Insider buying is often viewed as a sign of confidence in the company’s outlook. MarketBeat insider transaction report
Neutral Sentiment: Upstart has been trending on trading and research sites, suggesting elevated investor attention and speculation around the stock. Yahoo Finance: Upstart Holdings, Inc. (UPST) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms renewed reminders about a securities class action tied to purchases made between May 14, 2025 and November 4, 2025, with a June 8, 2026 lead-plaintiff deadline. The repeated lawsuit headlines can pressure sentiment by highlighting potential litigation risk and uncertainty. Rosen Law Firm deadline reminder
Negative Sentiment: A class action has been filed alleging securities-law violations and investor harm, adding another legal risk factor that could weigh on the stock. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman class action filing

Upstart Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.