The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Stock Price

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its target price raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $21.00 to $24.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on UPWK. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Upwork from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Upwork from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up previously 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 for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.00.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of Upwork stock traded down $0.32 on Thursday, reaching $15.93. 4,337,924 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,174,740. The firm has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.79 and a beta of 1.49. Upwork has a 1-year low of $8.43 and a 1-year high of $17.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a current ratio of 3.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $11.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.96.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total value of $99,823.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 20,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total value of $196,406.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,570.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 176,783 shares of company stock valued at $1,800,221 in the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Upwork by 5.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,996,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,115,000 after purchasing an additional 770,088 shares during the period. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP lifted its position in Upwork by 32.9% during the 2nd quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 3,320,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,700,000 after acquiring an additional 822,518 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Upwork by 27.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,806,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,424,000 after acquiring an additional 389,006 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Upwork by 71.0% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,635,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,572,000 after purchasing an additional 679,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 132.5% during the 1st quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 964,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,826,000 after purchasing an additional 549,733 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is 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.