Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $17.59 and last traded at $16.81, with a volume of 892090 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.58.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPWK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Upwork from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Upwork from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 price objective (up from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Roth Mkm decreased their target price on Upwork from $19.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.73.

Upwork Stock Up 17.6 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 3.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22 and a beta of 1.49.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $193.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.05 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 10.00%. Upwork’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.03) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In related news, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total transaction of $57,074.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,074.58. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 31,506 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 $304,032.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,190,561 shares in the company, valued at $11,488,913.65. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,818 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total value of $57,074.58. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,818 shares in the company, valued at $57,074.58. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 176,783 shares of company stock valued at $1,800,221 over the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UPWK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Upwork by 5.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,996,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,115,000 after acquiring an additional 770,088 shares in the last quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP grew its position 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 27.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,806,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,424,000 after purchasing an additional 389,006 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 679,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Upwork by 132.5% during the first quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 964,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,826,000 after buying an additional 549,733 shares during the last quarter. 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.