Equities have had a tough start to the year due to the surging market volatility. But despite the negative market sentiment, popular stocks Upstart Holdings, Inc. (UPST - Get Rating) and Beyond Meat, Inc. (BYND - Get Rating) received a boost in the form of a double-upgrade by Wall Street analysts.

Bank of America Corporation Securities analyst Nat Schindler gave UPST a double-upgrade to Buy from Underperform. UPST had reported solid last quarter results with fee revenue, EPS, and EBITDA all beating Wall Street estimates. The company’s revenue and earnings guidance were also beyond the analysts’ estimates.

Also, Barclays analyst Benjamin Theurer provided a double-upgrade to ‘overweight’ to plant-based food company BYND after citing “more positives than negatives” in the U.S. consumer market for alternative meat products. Theurer believes that the company’s potential in the U.S. consumer market is not being reflected in its stock price. The analyst raised his price target for BYND by $10 to $80 per share.

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (UPST - Get Rating)

UPST in San Mateo, Calif., is a leading artificial intelligence (AI) lending platform that helps access affordable credit while reducing its bank partners’ risk and cost of lending. Its platform utilizes advanced machine learning tools to accurately gauge the risk and approve more applicants than traditional, credit-score-based lending models.

On Feb. 15, 2022, UPST’s board of directors approved a share repurchase program with authorization to purchase up to $400 million of common stock. UPST CFO Sanjay Datta said, “With the volatility in the trading of our stock, we have seen what we believe to be attractive buying conditions at various times over the past year, and our profitability puts us in a position to be able to initiate this program and take advantage of those situations on behalf of our shareholders.”

For its fiscal fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31, 2021, UPST’s total revenue increased 252% year-over-year to $304.84 million. The company’s adjusted net income increased 1,499% year-over-year to $86.95 million. Also, its adjusted EBITDA came in at $91 million, representing a 487% increase year-over-year.

Analysts expect UPST’s EPS and revenue for the quarter ending March 31, 2022, to increase 145.5% and 161.5% respectively, year-over-year to $0.54 and $303.49 million. It surpassed consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. Over the past year, the stock has gained 76.5% in price to close the last session at $131.55.

Beyond Meat, Inc. (BYND - Get Rating)

BYND is a food company that offers plant-based meats. The El Segundo, Calif.-based company’s product offerings include Beyond Burger, Beyond Sausage, Beyond Beef, Beyond Meatballs, Beyond Breakfast Sausage Patties, Beyond Breakfast Sausage Links, Beyond Beef Crumbles, and Beyond Italian Sausage Crumbles. It sells a range of plant-based products across the three main meat types: beef, pork, and poultry.

For its fiscal 2021, BYND’s net revenues increased 14.2% year-over-year to $464.70 million. The company’s international net revenues increased 76.8% year-over-year to $144.86 million. Also, its total current assets increased 216.6% year-over-year to $1.05 billion.

For its fiscal year 2022, BYND’s EPS and revenue are expected to increase 36.6% and 37.2% respectively year-over-year to $1.82 and $637.34 million. Over the last month, the stock has declined 21.6% in price to close the last trading session at $49.

UPST shares were trading at $139.20 per share on Friday morning, up $7.65 (+5.82%). Year-to-date, UPST has declined -8.00%, versus a -8.30% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

About the Author: Dipanjan Banchur

Since he was in grade school, Dipanjan was interested in the stock market. This led to him obtaining a master’s degree in Finance and Accounting. Currently, as an investment analyst and financial journalist, Dipanjan has a strong interest in reading and analyzing emerging trends in financial markets. More...

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