Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.67.

Several research firms have recently commented on UPWK. Wall Street Zen raised Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Upwork from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, BTIG Research cut Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Upwork news, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.43, for a total transaction of $1,045,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 356,712 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,490.16. This trade represents a 14.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.16, for a total transaction of $1,029,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,106,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,993,477.36. The trade was a 5.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 545,454 shares of company stock worth $9,172,963 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 171,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,310,000 after purchasing an additional 29,805 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 17.5% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 509,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,850,000 after purchasing an additional 75,760 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 1st quarter worth approximately $750,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of Upwork stock opened at $13.23 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.63. Upwork has a 52 week low of $8.43 and a 52 week high of $18.14. The firm has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 7.92 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 3.41, a current ratio of 3.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $192.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.49 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 48.38% and a net margin of 30.46%. Upwork’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Upwork will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Upwork Company Profile

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.