Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Stock Price

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its price target hoisted by Citigroup from $11.00 to $19.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on UPWK. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $18.00 price target (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities upped their target price on Upwork from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.73.

Upwork Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $16.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 26.94 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Upwork has a 12-month low of $8.43 and a 12-month high of $17.79. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.36.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its 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 return on equity of 22.84% and a net margin of 11.26%. The company had revenue of $193.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Upwork will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total transaction of $59,466.82. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 15,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $160,621.72. This trade represents a 27.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Olivier Marie sold 9,153 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.92, for a total transaction of $145,715.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,600.48. This trade represents a 87.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 199,808 shares of company stock valued at $2,501,163 in the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Upwork in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Upwork in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Upwork by 104.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Upwork by 45.4% during 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 period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Upwork during the second quarter valued at $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.