Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Upwork has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, amidst mixed sentiments from other analysts who maintain varying price targets for the stock.
• The company recently announced a $100 million share buyback plan, which is often seen as a sign that management believes the stock is currently undervalued.
• Upwork reported strong earnings, with a quarterly EPS of $0.35, exceeding analyst expectations, and a revenue of $194.94 million, reflecting a modest increase compared to the previous year.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on UPWK. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.67.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UPWK opened at $20.07 on Friday. Upwork has a twelve month low of $9.93 and a twelve month high of $20.38. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $14.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.21. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $194.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Upwork will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Upwork declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, September 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other Upwork news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 2,060 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total transaction of $28,510.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,035 shares in the company, valued at $28,164.40. This represents a 50.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,036 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total transaction of $263,458.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 209,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,895,355.68. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 194,780 shares of company stock worth $3,118,830 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork during the second quarter worth about $30,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Upwork by 415.9% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,528 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in Upwork in the second quarter worth about $45,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Upwork by 19,361.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 3,485 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Upwork by 3,492.8% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,988 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 3,877 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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