Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Given New $27.00 Price Target at JMP Securities

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its price objective upped by JMP Securities from $20.00 to $27.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market outperform rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Upwork from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.42.

Upwork Price Performance

Upwork stock opened at $19.92 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.32. The company has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 1.43. Upwork has a 1 year low of $9.93 and a 1 year high of $20.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 3.36.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.09. Upwork had a net margin of 31.75% and a return on equity of 44.83%. The business had revenue of $194.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Upwork will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Upwork declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, September 3rd that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total value of $825,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,093,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,046,353.60. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total transaction of $263,458.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 209,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,895,355.68. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 222,576 shares of company stock worth $3,670,318 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Straightline Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Straightline Group LLC now owns 37,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 546.8% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after buying an additional 115,857 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of Upwork in the 2nd quarter valued at $241,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 45,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 6,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 1,333.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 13,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 12,997 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

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.