Analysts Set Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Price Target at $18.58

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.58.

Several research firms have weighed in on UPWK. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th.

Upwork Stock Performance

Upwork stock opened at $13.42 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.24. Upwork has a twelve month low of $8.43 and a twelve month high of $18.14.

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

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 21,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total value of $341,120.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,275,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,592,590.45. This represents a 1.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.58, for a total transaction of $1,318,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,536.42. This trade represents a 82.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 173,103 shares of company stock worth $2,785,935 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPWK. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork during the third quarter valued at approximately $858,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 133.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after buying an additional 66,842 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 45.4% during the third 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 last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 18.4% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 2,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Upwork by 23.6% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 261,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,729,000 after purchasing an additional 49,903 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.