Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on the stock from $15.00 to $18.00. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Upwork traded as high as $17.59 and last traded at $16.81, with a volume of 892090 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.58.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on UPWK. JMP Securities raised their target price on Upwork from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Upwork from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 31,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total transaction of $304,032.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,190,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,488,913.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 31,506 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total transaction of $304,032.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,190,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,488,913.65. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.54, for a total value of $790,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 48,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $515,564.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 176,783 shares of company stock valued at $1,800,221 over the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UPWK. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Upwork in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 104.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 2,220 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Upwork by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Trading Down 2.0 %

The company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 3.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.99.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $193.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.05 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 23.59% and a net margin of 11.26%. Upwork’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.03) EPS. Research analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.