Brokerages Set Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Price Target at $15.70

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.27.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Upwork from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Upwork from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on Upwork from $19.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Upwork from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of Upwork stock opened at $10.55 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.14 and a beta of 1.54. Upwork has a 12 month low of $8.43 and a 12 month high of $16.36. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. Upwork had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 10.00%. The firm had revenue of $193.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.03) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Upwork will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 31,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total transaction of $304,032.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,190,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,488,913.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,626 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total value of $59,466.82. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $160,621.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 31,506 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total value of $304,032.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,190,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,488,913.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 176,785 shares of company stock valued at $1,800,489 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 67.8% during the fourth 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. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the second quarter worth $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the second quarter worth $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the first quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Upwork by 104.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220 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.