Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.67.

Several brokerages have issued reports on UPWK. BTIG Research lowered Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Upwork from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total value of $852,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,215,083 shares in the company, valued at $17,254,178.60. This trade represents a 4.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 1,620 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.41, for a total value of $26,584.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 566,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,478,580. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 3,492.8% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 3,877 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Upwork by 1,235.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,767 shares during the last quarter. Nkcfo LLC acquired a new stake in Upwork during the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Upwork during the 4th quarter worth about $84,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 1,899 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company's stock.

Upwork Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ UPWK traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $15.46. 1,682,035 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,249,685. Upwork has a 52 week low of $8.43 and a 52 week high of $18.14. The company has a quick ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.28. The stock has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.52.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Upwork had a return on equity of 50.83% and a net margin of 28.02%. The company had revenue of $192.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. Upwork's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Upwork will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.