Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Earns Overweight Rating from Piper Sandler

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by Piper Sandler in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $18.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $13.00. Piper Sandler’s price target suggests a potential upside of 12.99% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Upwork from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Upwork from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm lowered their target price on Upwork from $19.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.00.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of Upwork stock opened at $15.93 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.00, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $11.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.99. Upwork has a 52 week low of $8.43 and a 52 week high of $17.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.29 and a beta of 1.49.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $193.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.05 million. Upwork had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 23.59%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.03) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Upwork will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 31,506 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total transaction of $304,032.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,190,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,488,913.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 20,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total value of $196,406.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,570.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 31,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total transaction of $304,032.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,190,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,488,913.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 176,783 shares of company stock valued at $1,800,221 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Upwork during the 1st quarter worth about $152,000. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 32.4% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 38,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 9,324 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Upwork by 1.1% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 241,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,966,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upwork in the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Upwork by 28.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 68,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 15,146 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.