Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) is one of the best “moonshot” tech stocks to buy according to short sellers. The stock’s latest publicly reported short interest stood at 33.83% of float as of April 30, 2026, according to MarketBeat.
Upstart gave both sides of the trade fresh material on May 5, when it reported first-quarter revenue of $308 million, up 44% year-over-year, while transaction volume rose 77% to 425,356 loans and total originations increased 61% to roughly $3.4 billion. The company also reaffirmed its full-year 2026 outlook for revenue of about $1.4 billion and adjusted EBITDA of about $294 million. That supports the moonshot case: Upstart is trying to make AI underwriting a scaled marketplace layer for consumer credit, not just a fintech lending widget with a fancy hat.
Short sellers still have obvious reasons to stay involved. Upstart’s first-quarter net loss widened to $6.6 million from $2.4 million a year earlier, while contribution margin fell to 50% from 55%, and adjusted EBITDA margin dropped to 13% from 20%. The company also remains exposed to credit-market conditions, funding availability, borrower performance, and lender demand. That leaves UPST as a classic moonshot fintech: huge AI-credit upside, but still chained to the interest-rate and credit-cycle dungeon.
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Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) operates an AI lending marketplace that connects consumers with banks and credit unions across personal loans, auto loans, home equity lines of credit, and related lending products.
While we acknowledge the potential of UPST as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.
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