I had held a very small position, just “to keep an eye on it.” But, I decided I could watch it at a distance and sold my small position, fortunately, just hours before the quarterly earnings report.
Upstart has been an incredibly frustrating investment. I still have confidence in their technology. I still feel that it’s highly unlikely that they will be disrupted by a competitor. I still think the notion that one of the big banks will develop similar capability is not viable (why would they invest the time and development dollars when they can get the capability today quite inexpensively)? And even in the unlikely case that Chase (or whoever) did develop such a tool, what would be their motivation to share it with competitors? I could go on, but I won’t. All of that stuff is positive and works in favor of Upstart.
The problem is that Upstart’s partners aren’t using their service so there’s no reliable source of lending funds. And the macro-economic environment sux (that’s a technical economic term).
So yeah, I’ll watch from a distance. If - - - when the economy turns around and Upstart’s business gets off life support I’ll likely return. But, I must admit, I’ve held - even a small position - too long.