Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.67.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UPWK. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Upwork from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. BTIG Research downgraded Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Leela Srinivasan sold 3,314 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.36, for a total value of $50,903.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 79,469 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,643.84. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 11,562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.51, for a total value of $156,202.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at $126,250.95. This trade represents a 55.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 545,454 shares of company stock worth $9,172,963 in the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Upwork by 51.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,498,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,405,000 after buying an additional 5,289,493 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Upwork by 364.5% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,351,406 shares of the company's stock worth $69,836,000 after purchasing an additional 4,199,244 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Upwork during the 1st quarter worth approximately $22,079,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Upwork by 1,674.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,748,320 shares of the company's stock worth $28,585,000 after buying an additional 1,649,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Upwork by 86.7% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,303,035 shares of the company's stock worth $54,005,000 after acquiring an additional 1,534,078 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Upwork Price Performance

NASDAQ:UPWK traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $13.38. 901,382 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,331,286. The company has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.01 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 3.41 and a quick ratio of 3.41. Upwork has a 1-year low of $8.43 and a 1-year high of $18.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $14.62 and a 200 day moving average of $14.62.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $192.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.49 million. Upwork had a net margin of 30.46% and a return on equity of 48.38%. Upwork's revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Upwork will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

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.