Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

UPWK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Upwork currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.67.

Upwork Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:UPWK traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $15.73. The stock had a trading volume of 446,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,252,704. The business's 50 day moving average is $14.14 and its 200-day moving average is $15.29. Upwork has a one year low of $8.43 and a one year high of $18.14. The company has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a current ratio of 3.39.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. Upwork had a net margin of 28.02% and a return on equity of 50.83%. The business 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 business earned $0.22 EPS. Upwork's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Upwork will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Olivier Marie sold 3,105 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.14, for a total value of $53,219.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,294 shares in the company, valued at $22,179.16. The trade was a 70.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas Layton sold 250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.47, for a total value of $4,367,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,867,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,629,924.43. The trade was a 11.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 566,868 shares of company stock worth $9,478,580 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Upwork by 3,492.8% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,988 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 3,877 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Upwork by 1,235.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,767 shares during the last quarter. Nkcfo LLC bought a new position in Upwork in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Upwork during the fourth quarter valued at about $84,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,690 shares of the company's stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.