Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Price Target Raised to $24.00

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $21.00 to $24.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 44.67% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $18.00 price target (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.64.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of Upwork stock traded up $2.01 on Thursday, hitting $16.59. 5,614,189 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,145,664. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a current ratio of 3.00. Upwork has a 52 week low of $8.43 and a 52 week high of $17.79. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.92.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $193.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.05 million. Upwork had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.03) earnings per share. 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 Upwork news, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total transaction of $57,074.58. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,818 shares in the company, valued at $57,074.58. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total transaction of $57,074.58. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,074.58. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.54, for a total transaction of $790,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 48,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $515,564.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 176,783 shares of company stock worth $1,800,221 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPWK. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Upwork in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Upwork in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Upwork in the first quarter worth about $49,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Upwork by 104.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Upwork by 45.4% in 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. 77.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.