Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Upgraded to Buy by BTIG Research

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) was upgraded by analysts at BTIG Research from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Thursday, FinViz reports. The brokerage presently has a $16.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 33.78% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on UPWK. Jefferies Financial Group raised Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Upwork from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.82.

Upwork Stock Up 2.2 %

UPWK stock opened at $11.96 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.01, a quick ratio of 3.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of 170.88 and a beta of 1.66. Upwork has a 1 year low of $6.56 and a 1 year high of $16.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.18.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.01. Upwork had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 6.80%. The company had revenue of $183.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.43 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Upwork will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 43,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.86, for a total value of $562,162.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,165,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,994,502.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 67,531 shares of company stock valued at $851,894. 9.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 67.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in Upwork during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Upwork by 107.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 2,236 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in Upwork in the 3rd quarter valued at $135,000. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 1st quarter valued at $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

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.