Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Receives “Sector Perform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating restated by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 13.71% from the stock’s current price.

UPWK has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Upwork from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Upwork from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.50.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK traded up $2.51 on Tuesday, reaching $15.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,245,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,218,369. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.94. Upwork has a 52-week low of $8.43 and a 52-week high of $18.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a current ratio of 3.39. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 1.52.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Upwork had a return on equity of 50.83% and a net margin of 28.02%. The company had revenue of $192.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Upwork will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 21,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total transaction of $341,120.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,275,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,592,590.45. This trade represents a 1.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 13,765 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total transaction of $222,304.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 156,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,532,772.20. This represents a 8.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 193,108 shares of company stock worth $3,046,648. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UPWK. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,237,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491,701 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 3,492.8% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 3,877 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 1st quarter valued at about $656,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Upwork by 59.2% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 131,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,721,000 after buying an additional 49,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 747.7% during the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 297,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,889,000 after acquiring an additional 262,840 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.