Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Trading 5.3% Higher – Here’s Why

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)’s share price rose 5.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $13.23 and last traded at $13.23. Approximately 566,410 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 2,109,793 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on UPWK. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on Upwork from $19.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Upwork from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.27.

Upwork Stock Performance

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 company has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $10.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.79.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.03. Upwork had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The firm had revenue of $193.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.03) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other 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 transaction of $99,823.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,178,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,460,444.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total transaction of $99,823.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,178,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,460,444.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 20,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total transaction of $196,406.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,570.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 176,783 shares of company stock valued at $1,800,221. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. New Century Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upwork in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,083,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Upwork by 186.8% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 306,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,299,000 after purchasing an additional 199,900 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,996,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,115,000 after purchasing an additional 770,088 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,344,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Upwork in the first quarter valued at about $3,165,000. Institutional investors 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.