Brokerages Set Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Target Price at $18.58

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.58.

UPWK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank started coverage on Upwork in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Upwork from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of UPWK stock opened at $13.57 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $15.39 and its 200-day moving average is $14.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a current ratio of 3.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 1.61. Upwork has a 52 week low of $8.43 and a 52 week high of $18.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.79. Upwork had a return on equity of 50.83% and a net margin of 28.02%. Equities research analysts expect that Upwork will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 5,411 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total transaction of $70,721.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $125,380.51. The trade was a 36.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.58, for a total value of $1,318,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,536.42. This represents a 82.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 193,365 shares of company stock worth $3,050,760 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPWK. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 45.4% during the 3rd 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. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851 shares during the period. Nkcfo LLC bought a new position in shares of Upwork during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Upwork during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in Upwork during the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,000. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.