JMP Securities Boosts Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Price Target to $20.00

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at JMP Securities from $18.00 to $20.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market outperform” rating on the stock. JMP Securities’ price target points to a potential upside of 16.01% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Upwork from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BTIG Research cut Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.67.

Upwork Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of UPWK stock opened at $17.24 on Friday. Upwork has a 12 month low of $8.43 and a 12 month high of $18.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $13.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.22. The company has a quick ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 1.52.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $192.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.49 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 50.83% and a net margin of 28.02%. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Upwork will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.58, for a total value of $1,318,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,299 shares in the company, valued at $286,536.42. This trade represents a 82.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,316 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total value of $56,410.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 160,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,103,551.15. This trade represents a 2.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 562,773 shares of company stock worth $9,433,027 over the last three months. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 4th quarter valued at about $806,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Upwork during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,019,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $419,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Upwork by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 178,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Upwork by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC now owns 3,045,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,788,000 after purchasing an additional 397,997 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

About Upwork

Upwork Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a work marketplace that connects businesses with various independent professionals and agencies in the United States, India, the Philippines, and internationally. The company’s work marketplace provides access to talent with various skills across a range of categories, including administrative support, sales and marketing, design and creative, and customer service, as well as web, mobile, and software development.