Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Jefferies Financial Group Analyst Says

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from $19.00 to $20.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 25.16% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on UPWK. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 target price (up from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Upwork currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.36.

Upwork Stock Down 1.4 %

UPWK opened at $15.98 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.52. Upwork has a 52 week low of $8.43 and a 52 week high of $18.14. The stock has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 25.37 and a beta of 1.59.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued 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. Upwork had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 22.84%. The business had revenue of $193.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.55 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Upwork will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 48,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $849,653.55. This represents a 60.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 30,672 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.13, for a total transaction of $464,067.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,196,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,098,823.73. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 213,813 shares of company stock worth $3,525,935. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Upwork by 186.8% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 306,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,299,000 after buying an additional 199,900 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upwork in the 3rd quarter worth about $858,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Upwork by 133.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 66,842 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Upwork during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,637,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Upwork by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 251,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,630,000 after purchasing an additional 73,104 shares during the last quarter. 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.