Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Receives $18.36 Average Price Target from Analysts

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.36.

Several research analysts have commented on UPWK shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,360 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.11, for a total transaction of $91,709.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,642 shares in the company, valued at $164,974.62. This represents a 35.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.13, for a total transaction of $299,816.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 128,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,950,847.07. This trade represents a 13.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 213,813 shares of company stock valued at $3,525,935. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UPWK. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Upwork by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,851 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Upwork by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 318,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,426,000 after buying an additional 1,996 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Upwork by 3.2% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 66,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 2,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 18.4% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 2,129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $16.11 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $16.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 3.18 and a quick ratio of 3.18. Upwork has a 1 year low of $8.43 and a 1 year high of $18.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 25.57 and a beta of 1.58.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.03. Upwork had a return on equity of 22.84% and a net margin of 11.26%. The firm had revenue of $193.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. Upwork’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Upwork will post 0.65 EPS for the current year.

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.