Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.58.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on UPWK shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Roth Mkm dropped their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Upwork from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. BTIG Research cut shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 13,765 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total transaction of $222,304.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 156,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,532,772.20. This represents a 8.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.58, for a total value of $1,318,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,299 shares in the company, valued at $286,536.42. The trade was a 82.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 193,365 shares of company stock worth $3,050,760 in the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Upwork by 51.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,498,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,405,000 after buying an additional 5,289,493 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Upwork by 1,674.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,748,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,585,000 after buying an additional 1,649,766 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 86.7% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,303,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,005,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534,078 shares in the last quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the 4th quarter worth about $24,633,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Upwork during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $18,838,000. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Upwork Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ UPWK opened at $12.80 on Friday. Upwork has a 12-month low of $8.43 and a 12-month high of $18.14. The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.37 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.65.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 year.

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.