Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Receives $18.58 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.50.

Several research analysts have issued reports on UPWK shares. Roth Mkm cut their price target on Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup cut their price target on Upwork from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Upwork in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.58, for a total transaction of $1,318,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,536.42. This trade represents a 82.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 5,411 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total value of $70,721.77. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,593 shares in the company, valued at $125,380.51. This trade represents a 36.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 233,108 shares of company stock worth $3,683,448. 7.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Upwork during the first quarter worth $241,000. LSV Asset Management increased its position in Upwork by 364.5% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,351,406 shares of the company's stock worth $69,836,000 after buying an additional 4,199,244 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in Upwork in the first quarter worth $504,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Upwork by 5.7% in the first quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,228 shares of the company's stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in Upwork by 64.4% in the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 43,236 shares of the company's stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 16,944 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Upwork Trading Up 2.6%

NASDAQ UPWK traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $16.88. 1,711,703 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,238,808. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.08. Upwork has a 1-year low of $8.43 and a 1-year high of $18.14. The firm has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

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