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

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $11.00 to $19.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 12.16% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Upwork from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Upwork presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.73.

Upwork Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:UPWK traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $16.94. The stock had a trading volume of 523,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,179,391. Upwork has a one year low of $8.43 and a one year high of $17.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.80 and its 200-day moving average is $11.36. The company has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a current ratio of 3.18.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.03. Upwork had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 22.84%. The firm had revenue of $193.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.12 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Upwork will post 0.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Olivier Marie sold 9,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.92, for a total transaction of $145,715.76. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,294 shares in the company, valued at $20,600.48. This trade represents a 87.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 30,672 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.13, for a total value of $464,067.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,196,221 shares in the company, valued at $18,098,823.73. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 199,808 shares of company stock valued at $2,501,163. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UPWK. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP increased its position in Upwork by 32.9% during the second quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 3,320,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,700,000 after purchasing an additional 822,518 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,369,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Upwork by 71.0% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,635,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,572,000 after acquiring an additional 679,028 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Upwork by 2,216.8% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,263,000 after purchasing an additional 481,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 27.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,806,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,424,000 after acquiring an additional 389,006 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently 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.