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

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

UPWK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Roth Mkm reduced their target price on Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Upwork from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Upwork from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Upwork from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In related news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 5,411 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total value 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. This represents a 36.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total value of $118,610.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,223,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,994,294.87. The trade was a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 193,365 shares of company stock worth $3,050,760. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at $2,013,000. Cache Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at $1,324,000. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at $345,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Upwork by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,488,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,337,000 after acquiring an additional 426,100 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in Upwork by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,436,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,840,000 after acquiring an additional 803,929 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Upwork Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ UPWK opened at $13.57 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.27. Upwork has a 52 week low of $8.43 and a 52 week high of $18.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a current ratio of 3.39.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Upwork will post 0.84 earnings per share 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.