Shares of Upstart Holdings (NASDAQ: UPST) are down nearly 50% over the last 12 months, but the returns over that time frame were a whole lot worse last week. That's because the stock of the artificial intelligence (AI) lending-marketplace company has soared this week. As of Thursday afternoon, Upstart shares have shot 48% higher since last Friday's close, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The stock is trading at a seven-month high, up almost 80% so far in 2023.

The stock has tumbled over the last year as an economic backdrop of rising interest rates and slowing growth turned all the data used to build the company's AI lending platform on its head. But investor sentiment began to change last week when Upstart announced its first-quarter results. The company said revenue dropped 67% year over year, but there was better news looking ahead.

Upstart projected sequential revenue growth in the second quarter, but there was more surprising, and important, positive news. CEO Dave Girouard stated, "Despite the headwinds facing our industry, we secured multiple long-term funding agreements, together expected to deliver more than $2 billion to the Upstart platform over the next 12 months."  

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Source Fool.com