Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on the stock from $15.00 to $18.00. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Upwork traded as high as $17.59 and last traded at $16.81, with a volume of 892090 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.58.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total value of $99,823.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,178,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,460,444.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total transaction of $99,823.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,178,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,460,444.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 20,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total transaction of $196,406.45. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,570.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 176,783 shares of company stock worth $1,800,221. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Upwork during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Upwork in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Upwork in the first quarter worth about $49,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 104.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 45.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 3.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $11.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.99.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $193.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.05 million. Upwork had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 23.59%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.03) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Upwork Inc. will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.