It was an across-the-board beat, but fewer than five analysts cover the company, according to Refinitiv, so comparisons to estimates aren't particularly reliable. Regarding the coming acceleration in the first quarter, Finance Chief Sanjay Datta said in the earnings call that the business is "catching up to where we otherwise would have expected it to be had there never been an impact of the pandemic.
Upstart uses machine learning to underwrite consumer loans and provides its technology to banking partners, who use it for more targeted underwriting. The company said its revenue in the quarter came from the origination of almost 124,000 loans. Some demand tapered off last year because of the financial hardships of Covid-19.
Analysts at Barclays, in trying to keep up with the recent market reaction, raised their share price target on Friday to $110 from $58, a 90% increase. Still, that was below the $115.09 closing price from the prior day. Thus, the analysts kept their hold recommendation on the stock. "We expect rapid growth to continue as the company moves into new verticals and distribution channels, but valuation keeps us on the sidelines as we await a more attractive entry point," the Barclays analysts wrote.Upstart isn't the first newly-public company to take off in the months following its market debut.
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