Upwork’s (UPWK) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $20.00 price target on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Upwork from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective on Upwork from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Upwork presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $17.30.

Upwork Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $12.89 on Thursday. Upwork has a 52-week low of $6.56 and a 52-week high of $16.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.83 and a beta of 1.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.19 and its 200 day moving average is $13.19. The company has a quick ratio of 3.01, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $183.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.43 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 13.96% and a net margin of 6.70%. Sell-side analysts predict that Upwork will post 0.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.07, for a total transaction of $241,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,145,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,831,978.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 67,531 shares of company stock worth $851,894. Insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UPWK. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Upwork by 67.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Upwork in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Upwork by 107.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 2,236 shares during the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Upwork by 56.2% in the 1st quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 4,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Upwork in the 3rd quarter worth about $135,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.