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

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

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on UPWK. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $18.00 price target (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Upwork from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.09.

Upwork Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $16.89 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $16.42 and its 200-day moving average is $12.83. The company has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81 and a beta of 1.59. 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 has a 52-week low of $8.43 and a 52-week high of $18.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. The company 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Upwork will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In related news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,816 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.13, for a total value of $299,816.08. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Olivier Marie sold 9,153 shares of the 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 approximately $20,600.48. This represents a 87.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 213,590 shares of company stock valued at $3,523,638 in the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP boosted its position in Upwork by 104.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 2,220 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 45.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,497 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Upwork by 71.9% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in Upwork in the fourth quarter worth about $97,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in Upwork in the second quarter worth about $104,000. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

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.