Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.00.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Upwork from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 target price (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th.

Upwork Price Performance

UPWK stock opened at $15.11 on Tuesday. Upwork has a 1 year low of $8.43 and a 1 year high of $17.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a current ratio of 3.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.14. The firm has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.98 and a beta of 1.49.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $193.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $185.55 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 22.84% and a net margin of 11.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Upwork will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.54, for a total transaction of $790,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 48,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $515,564.10. This trade represents a 60.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,818 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total transaction of $57,074.58. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,074.58. This represents a 50.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 151,781 shares of company stock worth $1,743,749 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Upwork during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Upwork in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quarry LP boosted 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 buying an additional 2,220 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Upwork during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 45.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

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.