UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Stock

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at UBS Group from $17.00 to $18.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 8.83% from the stock’s previous close.

UPWK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Upwork from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Upwork from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.36.

Upwork Trading Down 5.2 %

UPWK stock opened at $16.54 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $13.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 3.18 and a quick ratio of 3.18. Upwork has a fifty-two week low of $8.43 and a fifty-two week high of $17.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.25 and a beta of 1.58.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other Upwork news, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.54, for a total value of $790,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,915 shares in the company, valued at $515,564.10. The trade was a 60.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total transaction of $200,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,170,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,717,315.61. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 214,808 shares of company stock worth $2,756,163 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Upwork by 186.8% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 306,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,299,000 after purchasing an additional 199,900 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upwork in the third quarter valued at about $858,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Upwork by 133.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after acquiring an additional 66,842 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in Upwork during the second quarter worth about $1,637,000. Finally, Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Upwork by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 540,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,643,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

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.