Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Given New $18.00 Price Target at JMP Securities

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at JMP Securities from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market outperform” rating on the stock. JMP Securities’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 12.99% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $18.00 price target (up from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Mkm upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.00.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of UPWK stock opened at $15.93 on Thursday. Upwork has a 12 month low of $8.43 and a 12 month high of $17.79. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.99. The firm has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.29 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 3.00, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $193.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.03) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Upwork will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $12,460,444.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 1,178,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,460,444.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 20,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were 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 $1,035,570.45. This trade 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 three months. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

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

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.