JMP Securities Reaffirms "Market Outperform" Rating for Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Key Points

• Upwork's stock received a "market outperform" rating from JMP Securities, with a price target of $20.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.35% from its previous close.
• The company recently reported earnings per share of $0.35, exceeding expectations, alongside a revenue of $194.94 million for the quarter, which is up 0.9% from the previous year.
• Upwork's Board of Directors approved a stock repurchase program allowing the company to buy back up to $100 million in shares, indicating confidence in its stock value.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "market outperform" rating reissued by research analysts at JMP Securities in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $20.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities' target price would suggest a potential upside of 10.23% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on UPWK. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Upwork from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.67.

Upwork Trading Up 6.1%

UPWK stock traded up $1.04 on Friday, reaching $18.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,254,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,527,720. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.11. Upwork has a 12-month low of $9.93 and a 12-month high of $18.14. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 3.36.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.09. Upwork had a return on equity of 44.83% and a net margin of 31.75%.The company had revenue of $194.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Upwork will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Upwork declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In other news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 2,060 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total transaction of $28,510.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,164.40. This represents a 50.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total value of $825,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,093,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,046,353.60. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,184 shares of company stock valued at $1,560,387. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Upwork by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,800 shares of the company's stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in Upwork by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 264,789 shares of the company's stock worth $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the period. Straightline Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Straightline Group LLC now owns 37,143 shares of the company's stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 14,393 shares of the company's stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,228 shares of the company's stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.