Analysts Set Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Price Target at $18.58

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.58.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Upwork from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 21,122 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total transaction of $341,120.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,275,083 shares in the company, valued at $20,592,590.45. This trade represents a 1.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.58, for a total transaction of $1,318,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,536.42. This represents a 82.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 173,103 shares of company stock valued at $2,785,935 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 4th quarter valued at $2,013,000. Cache Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Upwork during the fourth quarter worth $1,324,000. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Upwork during the fourth quarter worth $345,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Upwork by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,488,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,337,000 after buying an additional 426,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Upwork by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,436,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,840,000 after buying an additional 803,929 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Upwork Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Upwork stock opened at $13.42 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 1.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $15.48 and its 200 day moving average is $14.24. Upwork has a twelve month low of $8.43 and a twelve 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.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.79. Upwork had a net margin of 28.02% and a return on equity of 50.83%. Research analysts anticipate that Upwork will post 0.84 EPS for the current 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.