Brokerages Set Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Target Price at $18.91

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.91.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on UPWK shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $18.00 price target (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Upwork Stock Down 6.7 %

Shares of UPWK opened at $15.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 1.57. Upwork has a 52 week low of $8.43 and a 52 week high of $18.14. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $16.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.66.

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

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 21,122 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total transaction of $341,120.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,275,083 shares in the company, valued at $20,592,590.45. The trade was a 1.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.37, for a total value of $1,302,750.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 48,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 243,187 shares of company stock worth $4,172,213 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UPWK. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Upwork by 45.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Upwork by 71.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Upwork by 42.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Nkcfo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at about $84,000. 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.