Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Stock

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 25.16% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Upwork from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Upwork has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.36.

Upwork Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $15.98 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 3.18 and a quick ratio of 3.18. Upwork has a 1 year low of $8.43 and a 1 year high of $18.14. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.37 and a beta of 1.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $16.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.52.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $185.55 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 22.84% and a net margin of 11.26%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. Upwork’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Upwork will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Upwork news, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,360 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.11, for a total value of $91,709.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,974.62. This represents a 35.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.37, for a total value of $1,302,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 48,915 shares in the company, valued at $849,653.55. The trade was a 60.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 213,813 shares of company stock worth $3,525,935. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Upwork during the second quarter worth $54,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Upwork by 3.4% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 186,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,007,000 after purchasing an additional 6,132 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 138.1% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 50,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 29,033 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 8.5% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 36,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 2,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Upwork by 39.7% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 194,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after buying an additional 55,178 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.