Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Given New $20.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 23.99% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $18.00 target price (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. 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, Upwork presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.36.

Upwork Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Upwork stock traded up $0.02 on Monday, hitting $16.13. The stock had a trading volume of 1,176,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,430,315. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.44. Upwork has a one year low of $8.43 and a one year high of $18.14. The stock has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Upwork will post 0.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In other news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.11, for a total value of $73,213.69. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 133,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,277,221.23. This represents a 3.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.11, for a total transaction of $91,709.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,974.62. This trade represents a 35.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 213,813 shares of company stock valued at $3,525,935. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 32.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 822,518 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Upwork by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 2,334,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,397,000 after acquiring an additional 260,274 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,806,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,424,000 after acquiring an additional 389,006 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Upwork by 71.0% in the second 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, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 1.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,011,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,570,000 after purchasing an additional 14,680 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.