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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on UPWK shares. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Upwork from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Upwork from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup decreased 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Upwork has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.27.

Upwork Trading Up 0.7 %

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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.35 and a 200 day moving average of $10.80. The firm has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82 and a beta of 1.54.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $193.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.05 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 10.00%. Upwork’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.03) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In other news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,491 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total value of $47,469.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 111,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,965.35. 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 hyperlink. In other news, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.54, for a total value of $790,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 48,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $515,564.10. 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 hyperlink. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,491 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total transaction of $47,469.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 111,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,175,965.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 176,783 shares of company stock worth $1,800,221. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in Upwork by 56.2% during the 1st quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 4,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Upwork by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 22,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 1,771 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Upwork by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 318,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,426,000 after buying an additional 1,996 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Upwork by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 66,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $718,000 after buying an additional 2,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in Upwork by 104.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 2,220 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently 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.