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

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its price objective boosted by analysts at JMP Securities from $14.00 to $18.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market outperform” rating on the stock. JMP Securities’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.70% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Upwork from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Upwork from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 price objective (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.73.

Upwork Trading Up 11.5 %

Upwork stock traded up $1.68 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $16.26. The stock had a trading volume of 6,392,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,149,266. Upwork has a twelve month low of $8.43 and a twelve month high of $17.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.92.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.03. Upwork had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 10.00%. The firm had revenue of $193.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Upwork will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total value of $99,823.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,178,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,460,444.50. 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 can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 20,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was 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 directly owns 107,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,570.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total value 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 176,783 shares of company stock worth $1,800,221. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Upwork by 45.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 8.6% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 22,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 0.6% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 318,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 3.2% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 66,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 104.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is owned by 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.