Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Lifted to “Buy” at BTIG Research

BTIG Research upgraded shares of Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $16.00 price objective on the stock.

UPWK has been the subject of a number of other reports. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Upwork from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $16.55.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UPWK traded down $0.10 during trading on Thursday, hitting $12.89. The company had a trading volume of 2,468,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,033,711. Upwork has a 52 week low of $6.56 and a 52 week high of $16.36. The business’s 50-day moving average is $12.19 and its 200 day moving average is $13.18. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.83 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 3.01 and a current ratio of 2.93.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.01. Upwork had a return on equity of 13.96% and a net margin of 6.70%. The company had revenue of $183.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.43 million. Equities research analysts predict that Upwork will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.07, for a total value of $241,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,145,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,831,978.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 67,531 shares of company stock valued at $851,894 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UPWK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Upwork by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,226,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,414,000 after buying an additional 660,966 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 2,216.0% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,893,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,231,000 after acquiring an additional 3,725,442 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 239.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,252,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,491,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589,693 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Upwork in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,987,000. Finally, Mak Capital One LLC bought a new stake in Upwork during the third quarter worth approximately $15,528,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

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.