Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.50.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. BTIG Research lowered Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 40,000 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.92, for a total value of $636,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,183,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,845,156.72. This trade represents a 3.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total transaction of $56,410.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 160,945 shares in the company, valued at $2,103,551.15. This represents a 2.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 233,108 shares of company stock valued at $3,683,448. Corporate insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPWK. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 3,492.8% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 3,877 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Upwork by 1,235.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,767 shares during the last quarter. Nkcfo LLC bought a new position in shares of Upwork in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Upwork in the fourth quarter worth approximately $84,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Upwork during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Trading Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ UPWK opened at $16.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a current ratio of 3.39. Upwork has a fifty-two week low of $8.43 and a fifty-two week high of $18.14. The stock has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.06.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. Upwork had a net margin of 28.02% and a return on equity of 50.83%. The firm had revenue of $192.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Upwork will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current 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.