#4 - Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST)
Unlike the first three stocks on this list, Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: UPST) does not provide banking services. This is strictly an online lender. And the cautionary note for Upstart is that the interest rates range from 5.99% to a punitive 32%. But as I wrote about Lending Club, Upstart may benefit from consumers' need to refinance credit card debt.
UPST stock is up 110% in 2023, and much of that is probably due to two words: artificial intelligence. The company promotes its use of AI to fine-tune its lending standards. The result, in theory, is that the company will have fewer defaults because it will better predict an applicant's ability to pay.
On the one hand, Upstart believes it will be able to qualify borrowers who might otherwise not be able to qualify. On the other hand, critics will say that it's too early to tell if this is truly minimizing defaults or just an example of AI being used because it can be. It's too early to tell, but UPST stock is still worth some consideration.
About Upstart
Upstart Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) lending platform in the United States. Its platform includes personal loans, automotive retail and refinance loans, home equity lines of credit, and small dollar loans that connects consumer demand for loans to its to bank and credit unions.
More- Current Price
- $63.95
- Consensus Rating
- Hold
- Ratings Breakdown
- 5 Buy Ratings, 4 Hold Ratings, 2 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $61.80 (3.4% Downside)
