Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Price Target Raised to $20.00

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its target price lifted by Jefferies Financial Group from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on UPWK. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Upwork from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.36.

Upwork Stock Performance

Upwork stock opened at $16.05 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.48 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a current ratio of 3.18. Upwork has a fifty-two week low of $8.43 and a fifty-two week high of $18.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $16.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.54.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $193.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.55 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 22.84% and a net margin of 11.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Upwork will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other news, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.37, for a total value of $1,302,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 48,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $849,653.55. This represents a 60.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,360 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.11, for a total value of $91,709.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,974.62. This represents a 35.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 213,813 shares of company stock worth $3,525,935 over the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 186.8% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 306,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,299,000 after acquiring an additional 199,900 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upwork during the third quarter valued at approximately $858,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 133.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after buying an additional 66,842 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork during the second quarter worth $1,637,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Upwork by 40.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 251,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,630,000 after purchasing an additional 73,104 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.