Upwork’s (UPWK) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $19.00 target price on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Roth Mkm cut their price target on Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research lowered shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Upwork currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.50.

Upwork Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Upwork stock opened at $16.46 on Tuesday. Upwork has a 12-month low of $8.43 and a 12-month high of $18.14. The company has a quick ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $13.35 and its 200-day moving average is $15.00. The stock has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 1.52.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $192.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.49 million. Upwork had a net margin of 28.02% and a return on equity of 50.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Upwork will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In other news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 13,765 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total transaction of $222,304.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 156,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,532,772.20. This represents a 8.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 5,411 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total value of $70,721.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,593 shares in the company, valued at $125,380.51. The trade was a 36.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 193,108 shares of company stock valued at $3,046,648. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new position in shares of Upwork in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $544,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in Upwork by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Upwork by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 2,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bristlecone Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 54.9% in the 4th quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 65,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 23,090 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.