JMP Securities Increases Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Price Target to $18.00

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its price target lifted by JMP Securities from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Upwork from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Upwork from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of 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 reduced 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of UPWK stock traded down $0.32 during trading on Thursday, hitting $15.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,337,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,174,740. The business has a fifty day moving average of $11.00 and a 200-day moving average of $10.96. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.79 and a beta of 1.49. Upwork has a 52 week low of $8.43 and a 52 week high of $17.79.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $193.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.05 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 23.59% and a net margin of 11.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.03) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Upwork will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Upwork news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 20,353 shares of the firm’s 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 $196,406.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,570.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Upwork news, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,818 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total transaction of $57,074.58. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,074.58. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 20,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,570.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 176,783 shares of company stock worth $1,800,221 in the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Upwork during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Upwork in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in Upwork by 104.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the period. 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.