Upstart stock is up over 150% in price since its 52-week low
Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) is an AI, or artificial intelligence, lending platform that partners with banks and credit unions to provide consumer loans using non-traditional variables, such as education and employment, to predict creditworthiness. At last check UPST was trading down 0.7% at $110.65.
On Jan. 12, Upstart Holdings announced that AgFed Credit Union partnered with Upstart to provide personal loans in an effort to better reach new members in the communities it serves in Washington DC. AgFed became an Upstart lending partner in September 2021 and will be part of the Upstart Referral Network.
Upstart stock has rallied about 96% in price year-over-year and UPST is trading up a jaw-dropping 157% since its 52-week low of $42.51 last March. However, shares of UPST have already decreased 27% year-to-date and Upstart stock is currently trading down 63% from its record high of $401.49 in October.
From a fundamental point of view, Upstart stock is still overvalued by most valuation metrics despite UPST’s drastic drop in price over the last couple of months. Upstart stock currently trades at a price-earnings ratio of 112.61 and a price-sales ratio of 21.12.
An unwinding of optimism in the options pits could create headwinds for UPST. The equity sports a Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.67, which stands higher than 19% of readings from the past year. In other words, short-term options traders have had a bigger appetite for calls than usual.
It is also worth noting the equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at 99 out of 100. This suggests UPST has exceeded options traders' volatility expectations during the past year.