Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Now Covered by Analysts at Scotiabank

Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a sector perform rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on UPWK. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Upwork from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Upwork from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Roth Mkm cut their target price on Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.58.

Upwork Stock Performance

Upwork stock opened at $13.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a current ratio of 3.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.13. Upwork has a fifty-two week low of $8.43 and a fifty-two week high of $18.14. The stock has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 1.61.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total transaction of $852,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,215,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,254,178.60. This represents a 4.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,279 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.11, for a total value of $73,213.69. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 133,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,277,221.23. The trade was a 3.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 288,187 shares of company stock valued at $4,769,213 in the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. KBC Group NV lifted 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. Nkcfo LLC bought a new position in Upwork in the 4th quarter worth $82,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Upwork in the 4th quarter worth $84,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in Upwork in the 4th quarter worth $97,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised 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 purchasing an additional 1,851 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.