Published - Mar 11, 2022 @ 11:22 AM (EET)

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On Wednesday, Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST), a leading artificial intelligence (AI) lending platform, announced its new mobile-first Upstart Auto Retail online platform, delivering an improved user experience alongside new features.

It marks the latest evolution of Upstart's expansion into auto lending, which led to impressive early results. Shares traded higher by nearly 8% after rising by as much as 10% earlier in the day.  

On March 11, 2022, Upstart will showcase and announce its new platform and OEM support and certification at the National Automobile Dealers Association Show (NADA) in Las Vegas.

At $599 per month, the platform aims to provide customers with convenient access to dealer inventory on their mobile phone, tablet, or desktop browser, which acts as a one-stop-shop to bring together offline and online experiences,  making car browsing simple for customers.

The Upstart Auto Retail digital platform consists of four key components; Online, In-Store, Real-Time Approvals, and Manager Portal.

"Dealers on our online platform see 66 percent of their traffic come from mobile devices," said General Manager Michia Rohrssen of Upstart Auto Retail.  "Buying a new car is not always a linear process, so we designed the new, mobile-first, online platform not only to adapt to the mobile usage of customers but also to give the dealer more options to customize  for each type of shopper and the pace of purchase."

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GROWTH EXPECTATIONS

Upstart has made some significant strides and entered a high-growth stage, with company revenues increasing by 286.6%, significantly more than the 3-year average growth rate of 207.3%.

Moreover, Upstart invested nearly $7.5 million as Net CapEx last year, on top of the current invested capital of $451 million.

Analysts expect Upstart to deliver revenues of $1.4 billion for the fiscal year 2023, a growth rate of 66% compared to 2022, and to post high top-line growth while earnings should decline in the short term.

Thus, Upstart seems to positively scale revenues in relation to total costs by 127.8%.  This means that the company is successfully growing without sacrificing profitability, also known as unit good economics.

PRICE TARGET:  The Wall Street community is cautiously optimistic about the stock and has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 5 Buys and 2 Holds.  The average price target of $195.71 implies an upside potential of 67.1% from current levels.  

At the time of writing, shares have gained 91% over the past year.

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To invest in Upstart stock visit MEXEM.

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