Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Given “Buy” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $17.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target suggests a potential upside of 3.85% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on UPWK. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Upwork has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.09.

Upwork Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of Upwork stock opened at $16.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.98 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $16.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.76. Upwork has a 1 year low of $8.43 and a 1 year high of $18.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 3.18 and a quick ratio of 3.18.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. Upwork had a return on equity of 22.84% and a net margin of 11.26%. The business had revenue of $193.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Upwork will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In related news, VP Dave Bottoms sold 10,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.86, for a total transaction of $166,656.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.37, for a total value of $1,302,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 48,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $849,653.55. This trade represents a 60.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 213,590 shares of company stock worth $3,523,638 over the last three months. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP grew 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 worth $35,700,000 after acquiring an additional 822,518 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Upwork in the third quarter valued at $8,369,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Upwork by 2,216.8% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,263,000 after purchasing an additional 481,942 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Upwork by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,806,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,424,000 after purchasing an additional 389,006 shares during the period. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP raised its position in Upwork by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 2,334,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,397,000 after purchasing an additional 260,274 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.