Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $17.91 and last traded at $17.71, with a volume of 714429 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities increased their target price on Upwork from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 target price (up from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.36.

Upwork Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $14.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a current ratio of 3.18.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $185.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Upwork news, CAO Olivier Marie sold 9,153 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.92, for a total transaction of $145,715.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,600.48. The trade was a 87.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,181,221 shares in the company, valued at $20,080,757. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 98,729 shares of company stock worth $1,542,658 over the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Upwork by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 226,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,366,000 after acquiring an additional 27,639 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 3rd quarter worth about $355,000. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 198.6% during the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 60,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 40,242 shares during the period. Tabor Asset Management LP bought a new position in Upwork in the 3rd quarter valued at about $993,000. Finally, Tenzing Global Management LLC lifted its position in Upwork by 20.0% during the third quarter. Tenzing Global Management LLC now owns 450,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,702,000 after acquiring an additional 75,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

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.