Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.91.

Several brokerages have commented on UPWK. Citigroup raised their price objective on Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 price objective (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Upwork from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Upwork Price Performance

UPWK stock opened at $15.58 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 3.39 and a quick ratio of 3.39. Upwork has a 1 year low of $8.43 and a 1 year high of $18.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.23 and a 200 day moving average of $13.79. The company has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 1.57.

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, sell-side analysts forecast that Upwork will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Upwork news, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,360 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.11, for a total value of $91,709.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,974.62. The trade was a 35.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 13,765 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total transaction of $222,304.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 156,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,532,772.20. This represents a 8.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 228,187 shares of company stock valued at $3,917,213. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

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