Analysts Set Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Price Target at $18.09

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.09.

Several brokerages recently commented on UPWK. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Upwork from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target 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.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $16.03 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.44 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.14. Upwork has a fifty-two week low of $8.43 and a fifty-two week high of $18.14.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 8,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.12, for a total transaction of $154,028.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,238,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,197,230.72. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Dave Bottoms sold 10,508 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.86, for a total transaction of $166,656.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 213,847 shares of company stock worth $3,527,750. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPWK. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 45.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Upwork by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 66,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $718,000 after acquiring an additional 2,063 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings 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 valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 2,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Upwork by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 178,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,387 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.