Jefferies Financial Group Lowers Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Price Target to $20.00

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its price target cut by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $21.00 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 would indicate a potential upside of 68.95% from the stock’s previous close.

UPWK has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. BTIG Research downgraded Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Upwork from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered their price target on Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.58.

Upwork Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of UPWK stock traded down $0.03 on Monday, hitting $11.84. The stock had a trading volume of 577,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,227,694. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $14.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.58. Upwork has a 1 year low of $8.43 and a 1 year high of $18.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.64 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 3.39 and a quick ratio of 3.39.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.79. Upwork had a net margin of 28.02% and a return on equity of 50.83%. Analysts anticipate that Upwork will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,075 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total transaction of $118,610.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,223,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,994,294.87. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.58, for a total transaction of $1,318,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,536.42. The trade was a 82.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 193,365 shares of company stock valued at $3,050,760. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UPWK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Upwork by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,011,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,570,000 after buying an additional 14,680 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 68,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $712,000 after acquiring an additional 17,482 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Upwork by 2,216.8% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,263,000 after purchasing an additional 481,942 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 42.6% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Upwork by 228.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 211,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,211,000 after buying an additional 147,059 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.