UPST was last seen down more than 11%
Artificial intelligence (AI) lending stock Upstart Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UPST) was last seen down 11.9% at $45.27, brushing off upbeat first-quarter results as well as a strong full-year forecast, after the company's second-quarter outlook spooked investors. No fewer than four analysts slashed their price targets after the event, including Morgan Stanley all the way to $50 from $70.
Options traders are blasting Upstart stock in response. So far today, 62,000 calls and 47,000 puts have been exchanged , which is 4 times the intraday average volume. The weekly 5/9 50-strike call is the most active contract, followed by the weekly 5/9 45-strike put, with new positions opening at both.
Today's drop has UPST on track to snap a three-quarter streak of massive post-earnings wins, including a 31.8% pop this last February. Still, today's downward movement isn't too unusual, considering the stock has averaged a next-day earnings swing of 29.8% over the last two years, regardless of direction.
Before today's drop, UPST had been steadily climbing on the charts since early April. Longer term, the shares are down 25.1% year to date, and quite a ways from their Feb. 13, two-year high of $96.43. The 320-day moving average appears to be providing support for today's pullback, however.
