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Is this fintech’s innovative platform enough?

IPO darling Upstart Holdings ( UPST -% ) has pulled back 72% from its all-time highs amid market uncertainty and a rotation out of speculative tech stocks. Can the fintech platform that utilizes artificial intelligence to assess creditworthiness disrupt the traditional lending industry? Or does it face an uphill battle against established lending companies?

In this video clip from “The Rank,” recorded on Feb. 14, Motley Fool contributors Matthew Frankel, CFP, Jason Hall, and Tyler Crowe discuss Upstart’s meteoric rise and recent fall, and explore the challenges the company faces in a crowded field.

Matt Frankel: Upstart went public at a $20 IPO price in above $400. It was a 20-bagger in less than a year after its IPO. It has since come down to earth, might be an understatement. Upstart is down about 72% from its highs, and that’s after a recent rebound. This one got hit pretty good. Still a pretty expensive company, about an $8.8 billion market cap. Upstart actually reports tomorrow, so we’ll get a better look at the state of the business, which I’m really excited to see because the second and third quarters weren’t very comparable to the year before. The second quarter of 2021, Upstart’s business was going, they were making loans as much as possible. They pretty much pressed the brakes on lending in the second quarter of 2020. On paper it looks like 1,000% year-over-year gain. But it really wasn’t. The third quarter was like that, but less so. Read more