Weiss Ratings Reaffirms Hold (C+) Rating for Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "hold (C+)" rating for Upwork (NASDAQ: UPWK) as of a recent report, amidst various upgrades from other analysts including UBS and JMP Securities, raising their price targets for the stock.
• Upwork's stock experienced a significant rise of 4.5% during trading, reaching $17.86 after reporting an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.35, surpassing analysts’ estimates.
• The company announced a stock repurchase program allowing for up to $100 million in buybacks, indicating confidence in the stock's undervaluation by its board of directors.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c+)" rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Upwork from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Upwork from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 28th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.42.

Upwork Trading Up 4.5%

Shares of NASDAQ UPWK traded up $0.77 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $17.86. 2,700,615 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,445,029. Upwork has a 12-month low of $9.93 and a 12-month high of $20.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 3.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $15.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.66. The firm has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 1.54.

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

Upwork declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In other news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 10,894 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total value of $208,729.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,478.44. This represents a 51.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total transaction of $825,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,093,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,046,353.60. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 222,576 shares of company stock worth $3,670,318. Corporate insiders own 7.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPWK. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Upwork by 364.5% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,351,406 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,836,000 after purchasing an additional 4,199,244 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Upwork during the first quarter valued at approximately $22,079,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Upwork by 200.0% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,237,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491,701 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Upwork by 41.1% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,660,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,820,000 after buying an additional 1,357,476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Upwork during the first quarter valued at approximately $13,713,000. Institutional investors 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.

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