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

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $16.55.

Several analysts have commented on UPWK shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Upwork from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th.

Upwork Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of UPWK opened at $11.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 3.01 and a quick ratio of 3.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.16. Upwork has a 1-year low of $6.56 and a 1-year high of $16.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 159.74 and a beta of 1.67.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.01. Upwork had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 14.21%. The business had revenue of $183.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.43 million. Equities analysts forecast that Upwork will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.07, for a total transaction of $241,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,831,978.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 67,531 shares of company stock valued at $851,894 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 67.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 107.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 2,236 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the 3rd quarter valued at $135,000. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the 1st quarter valued at $141,000. 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.