Shares of financial information company NerdWallet (NRDS 0.07%) jumped 21.3% in October, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Through Oct. 26, the stock was actually down over 26%. But that afternoon, the company reported financial results for the third quarter of 2023. The stock consequently skyrocketed, ultimately erasing losses and finishing the month with market-crushing gains.

Ironically, Wall Street didn't appear overly impressed with the Q3 results from NerdWallet. Oppenheimer analyst Jed Kelly subsequently lowered his price target for NerdWallet stock from $16 per share to $13 per share, according to StreetInsider.

Likewise, Truist analyst Youssef Squali lowered his price target for NerdWallet stock from $21 per share to $20 per share, according to The Fly.

In fairness to the analyst community, these price targets still reflect substantial upside for NerdWallet stock. Moreover, the market is celebrating some material developments to this business.

What's going right for NerdWallet?

NerdWallet was one of only a handful of stocks to do well in October and it's thanks to the financial results it reported. In Q3, monthly unique users of the platform jumped 22% year over year to 24 million. That's the most users since the company went public. And this is its hottest year-over-year user growth in 2023.

Strong user growth boosted NerdWallet's revenue by 7% year over year to nearly $153 million. This was higher revenue than what Wall Street expected. But the real encouraging trend wasn't so much on the top line as it was on the bottom line.

NerdWallet's management reined in expenses and delivered a Q3 operating profit of $4 million, compared with an operating loss of $8.8 million in the prior-year period. That's a big jump and it has the market excited about NerdWallet stock.

NerdWallet going forward

In the upcoming fourth quarter, NerdWallet's management expects its revenue to drop by about 3% year over year. But it does expect to earn a full-year operating profit, which is encouraging.

NerdWallet is also on solid financial footing for the long term with $86.6 million in cash and no debt.

However, I believe NerdWallet may be a stock that few investors can predict with confidence. The company generates revenue by publishing information on finances and then connecting users with its partners for products including credit cards and loans. And demand trends could be hard to forecast.

With only 24 million monthly unique users, growth from here for NerdWallet certainly seems attainable. And the company's growth and profitability have been improving lately. However, investors trying to build an investment thesis will want to think three to five years into the future. And management hasn't given investors much insight looking that far ahead, so building a solid investment thesis is a challenging task.