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Upstart Holdings, Inc. (UPST) Stock Analysis

SellVALUE-TRAP 2/5Moderate Confidence

Financial Services · Credit Services

Sell if holding. Engine safety override at $28.15: Quality below floor (3.7 < 4.0) triggers a hard block regardless of the otherwise-positive setup — overall score 5.8/10 and A.R:R 2.2:1 is above the 1.5:1 BUY gate. Specifically: High short interest: 32%; Below-average business quality; Negative price momentum.

Upstart is an AI lending marketplace facilitating personal loans, auto loans, and HELOCs through 100+ bank and credit union lending partners and institutional investors, with 91% of 2025 loans fully automated. Revenue comes from platform and referral fees; top 3 lending partners... Read more

$28.15+28.8% A.UpsideScore 5.8/10#19 of 28 Credit Services
QualityF-score6 / 9FCF yield-11.69%
Stop $26.11Target $36.18(analyst − 10%)A.R:R 2.2:1
Analyst target$40.20+42.8%15 analysts
$36.18our TP
$28.15price
$40.20mean
$20
$80

Sell if holding. Engine safety override at $28.15: Quality below floor (3.7 < 4.0) triggers a hard block regardless of the otherwise-positive setup — overall score 5.8/10 and A.R:R 2.2:1 is above the 1.5:1 BUY gate. Specifically: High short interest: 32%; Below-average business quality; Negative price momentum. Chart setup: No recognized chart pattern (not a breakout, bounce, continuation, recovery, falling knife, or range) — technicals mixed. Score 5.8/10, moderate confidence.

Passes 7/9 gates (favorable risk/reward ratio, clean insider activity, no SEC red flags, news events none recent, earnings proximity 77d clear, semi cycle peak clear, materials cycle peak clear). Fails on weak momentum and death cross (50MA < 200MA). Suitability: aggressive.

Recent Developments — Upstart Holdings, Inc.

Generated 2026-05-20T20:21:22Z.

Thesis

Rewards
No bull case signals
Risks
Concentration risk — Customer: top three lending partners (61.0%)
Quality below floor (3.7 < 4.0)
Value-trap signals (2/5): Revenue declining (-9.8% YoY), High leverage (D/E 5.2)

Key Metrics

P/E (TTM)68.1
P/E (Fwd)8.3
Mkt Cap$2.7B
EV/EBITDA42.2
Profit Mgn4.2%
ROE7.0%
Rev Growth44.6%
Beta2.26
DividendNone
Rating analysts21

Quality Signals

Piotroski F6/9MoatNarrow

Options Flow

P/C0.99neutral
IV77%elevated

Concentration Risks(10-K Item 1A)

  • HIGHCustomertop three lending partners61%
    10-K Item 1: 'revenue from fees received from these lending partners accounted for 61% of our total revenue'

Material Events(8-K, last 90d)

  • 2026-02-10Item 5.02MEDIUM
    On Feb 10, 2026, Paul Gu (Co-founder, current CTO) was appointed CEO effective May 1, 2026, succeeding Dave Girouard who will become Executive Chairman. Sanjay Datta was simultaneously appointed President and Chief Capital Officer effective immediately.
    SEC filing →

Model-generated analysis — not investment advice. Not a registered investment advisor. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Full disclaimer

Rating Breakdown

3 floor-breakers·1 ceiling hit

Price action weak — below key moving averages, no momentum carry. Needs a base before trend-continuation setups apply.static

Macd
0.0
Ma Position
1.0
Obv
1.1
Volume
4.3
Rsi
4.5
Volume distribution (falling OBV)Below 200-MA, MA slope -13.0%/30d — confirmed downtrend

Volatile — 6.6% daily ATR makes tight stops impractical. Position-size conservatively.static

Short Interest
0.0
Volatility
0.0
Implied Vol
0.4
Debt Equity
2.3
Beta
2.5
Days To Cover
4.2
Put Call
6.8
High short interest: 32%High IV: 77%Concentration risks: 1 HIGH (10-K Item 1A — sized via position_sizing, validated via buy_confidence)

Quality below the gate floor. Component breakdown shows what dragged the score down.static

Fcf Quality
0.0
Operating Margin
0.4
Roa
1.2
Net Margin
2.1
Roe
2.3
Rule Of 40
3.0
Current Ratio
5.0
Moat
6.4
Piotroski F
6.7
Gross Margin
10.0
Earnings quality RED FLAG: -633% FCF/NIRule of 40: 18 (fail)
GatesMomentum 2.2<4.5Death cross (50MA < 200MA)A.R:R 2.2 ≥ 1.5Insider activity: OKNo SEC red flagsNEWS EVENTS NONE RECENTEARNINGS PROXIMITY 77d clearSEMI CYCLE PEAK CLEARMATERIALS CYCLE PEAK CLEARSuitability: Aggressive
RSI
41 · Neutral
20D MA 50D MA 200D MADEATH CROSSSupport $26.22Resistance $35.19

Price Targets

$26
$36
A.Upside+28.5%
A.R:R2.2:1

Position Sizing

ConvictionNone
Suggested %0.5%
Max %1%
RegimeSteady

Risk Alerts

! Quality below floor (3.7 < 4.0)
! Value-trap signals (2/5): Revenue declining (-9.8% YoY), High leverage (D/E 5.2)
! Momentum score 2.2/10 — below 4.5 minimum

Earnings

B
B
B
M
3/4 beats
Next Earnings2026-08-04 (77d)

Verdict History

reverse chrono — latest first
Loading history...
Verdicts are recorded on every nightly pipeline run. Rows capture transitions (verdict flips, score deltas ≥0.3, entry/TP/SL changes). Rows with a ▶ can be expanded to see the change reason. Aggregate cohort performance is tracked in the recommendation ledger.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is UPST stock a buy right now?

Sell if holding. Engine safety override at $28.15: Quality below floor (3.7 < 4.0) triggers a hard block regardless of the otherwise-positive setup — overall score 5.8/10 and A.R:R 2.2:1 is above the 1.5:1 BUY gate. Specifically: High short interest: 32%; Below-average business quality; Negative price momentum. Chart setup: No recognized chart pattern (not a breakout, bounce, continuation, recovery, falling knife, or range) — technicals mixed. Prior stop was $26.11. Score 5.8/10, moderate confidence.

What is the UPST stock price target?

Take-profit target: $36.18 (+28.8% upside). Prior stop was $26.11. Stop-loss: $26.11.

What are the risks of investing in UPST?

Concentration risk — Customer: top three lending partners (61.0%); Quality below floor (3.7 < 4.0); Value-trap signals (2/5): Revenue declining (-9.8% YoY), High leverage (D/E 5.2).

Is UPST overvalued or undervalued?

Upstart Holdings, Inc. trades at a P/E of 68.1 (forward 8.3). TrendMatrix value score: 7.1/10. Verdict: Sell.

What do analysts say about UPST?

21 analysts cover UPST with a consensus score of 3.8/5. Average price target: $40.

What does Upstart Holdings, Inc. do?Upstart is an AI lending marketplace facilitating personal loans, auto loans, and HELOCs through 100+ bank and credit...

Upstart is an AI lending marketplace facilitating personal loans, auto loans, and HELOCs through 100+ bank and credit union lending partners and institutional investors, with 91% of 2025 loans fully automated. Revenue comes from platform and referral fees; top 3 lending partners collectively originated 83% of marketplace loans and contributed 61% of total revenue in 2025.

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