Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Rating Increased to Buy at BTIG Research

BTIG Research upgraded shares of Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. BTIG Research currently has $16.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on UPWK. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Upwork from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a market outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Upwork from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upwork currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $17.30.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of UPWK stock opened at $12.89 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $12.19 and a 200-day moving average of $13.21. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.83 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 3.01, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Upwork has a 52 week low of $6.56 and a 52 week high of $16.36.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.01. Upwork had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 13.96%. The business had revenue of $183.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.43 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Upwork will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.07, for a total value of $241,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,145,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,831,978.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 67,531 shares of company stock worth $851,894. 9.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,226,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,414,000 after purchasing an additional 660,966 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Upwork by 2,216.0% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,893,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,231,000 after acquiring an additional 3,725,442 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Upwork by 239.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,252,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,491,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589,693 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Upwork during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $16,987,000. Finally, Mak Capital One LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,528,000. 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.