Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Receives “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $17.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $18.00 target price (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Upwork from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their target price on Upwork from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Upwork has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.09.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UPWK opened at $16.89 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $16.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.81 and a beta of 1.59. 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 $18.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $193.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $185.55 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 22.84% and a net margin of 11.26%. Upwork’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Upwork will post 0.65 earnings per share 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 that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.37, for a total value of $1,302,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $849,653.55. This represents a 60.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.13, for a total transaction of $299,816.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 128,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,950,847.07. The trade was a 13.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 213,590 shares of company stock worth $3,523,638. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UPWK. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in shares of Upwork during the fourth quarter worth about $97,000. Wedmont Private Capital bought a new stake in Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $544,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Upwork by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 226,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,366,000 after purchasing an additional 27,639 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Upwork during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $355,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 198.6% in the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 60,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 40,242 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.