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

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reiterated a "Hold (C+)" rating for Upwork (NASDAQ: UPWK), signaling a cautious outlook on the stock's performance.
• Upwork announced a $100 million share buyback plan, which is generally interpreted as a sign that management believes the stock is undervalued.
• Analyst ratings for Upwork show eight ratings as "Buy" and five as "Hold," with a consensus target price of $19.42 per share.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c+)" rating restated by research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on UPWK. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Upwork from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Upwork from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, September 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Upwork presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.42.

Upwork Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Upwork stock traded down $0.12 on Friday, reaching $16.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,772,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,170,792. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $16.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.96. Upwork has a 52 week low of $11.13 and a 52 week high of $20.54. The company has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 1.54.

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

Upwork announced that its Board of Directors 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 repurchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Upwork news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 8,730 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total value of $167,266.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 218,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,188,471.80. This represents a 3.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 10,014 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.96, for a total transaction of $199,879.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 345 shares in the company, valued at $6,886.20. The trade was a 96.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 222,576 shares of company stock worth $3,670,318 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Upwork by 8.0% in the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,800 shares of the company's stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 0.4% during the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 264,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,559,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares during the period. Straightline Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 3.2% during the second quarter. Straightline Group LLC now owns 37,143 shares of the company's stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 11.1% during the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 14,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 5.7% during the first quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares during the period. 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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