Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Given New $15.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its price target reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $18.00 to $15.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on UPWK. Needham & Company LLC reissued a buy rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities upped their price target on Upwork from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Upwork from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $16.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Upwork from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the company from $13.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $17.30.

Upwork Price Performance

UPWK opened at $13.05 on Thursday. Upwork has a fifty-two week low of $7.54 and a fifty-two week high of $16.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $12.19 and a 200 day moving average of $13.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a current ratio of 2.93. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.83 and a beta of 1.66.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $183.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.43 million. Upwork had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 13.96%. On average, research analysts expect that Upwork will post 0.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.07, for a total value of $241,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,145,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,831,978.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 67,531 shares of company stock valued at $851,894. Corporate insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. grew its position in shares of Upwork by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 92,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,046,000 after buying an additional 903 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC grew its position in shares of 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 period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Upwork in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in Upwork by 107.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 2,236 shares in the last quarter. 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.