Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.58.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Upwork from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Upwork Trading Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ UPWK opened at $12.60 on Monday. Upwork has a fifty-two week low of $8.43 and a fifty-two 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.20. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.24 and a beta of 1.61.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 forecast that Upwork will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 8,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.12, for a total value of $154,028.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,238,156 shares in the company, valued at $21,197,230.72. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 13,765 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total value of $222,304.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 156,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,532,772.20. This trade represents a 8.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 268,187 shares of company stock worth $4,432,413. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. KBC Group NV lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in Upwork by 42.6% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,129 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Upwork by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 67,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,148 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Upwork by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 178,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,914,000 after acquiring an additional 2,387 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.