Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $19.4167.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Upwork from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 28th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $18.16 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $15.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.55. Upwork has a twelve month low of $9.93 and a twelve month high of $20.54. The company has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.09. Upwork had a return on equity of 44.83% and a net margin of 31.75%.The firm had revenue of $194.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Upwork will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Upwork announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Upwork news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was 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 directly owned 209,202 shares in the company, valued at $2,895,355.68. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 10,894 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total value of $208,729.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,478.44. This represents a 51.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 222,576 shares of company stock worth $3,670,318 over the last three months. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Upwork by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its position in Upwork by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 264,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Straightline Group LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,160 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 14,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 1,443 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.