Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $16.55.

A number of research firms recently commented on UPWK. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Upwork from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.07, for a total value of $241,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,980 shares in the company, valued at $13,831,978.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 67,531 shares of company stock worth $851,894 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPWK. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Upwork by 2,216.0% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,893,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,231,000 after purchasing an additional 3,725,442 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Upwork by 239.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,252,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589,693 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Upwork during the third quarter worth $16,987,000. Mak Capital One LLC acquired a new position in Upwork during the third quarter worth $15,528,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Upwork during the fourth quarter worth $19,082,000. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Upwork Stock Performance

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

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $183.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.43 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 6.80%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Upwork will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal 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.