Upwork’s (UPWK) “Hold (C+)” Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings restated their hold (c+) rating on shares of Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) in a research report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Upwork from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 28th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their target price on Upwork from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Upwork currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.42.

Upwork Trading Down 3.6%

Shares of UPWK stock opened at $16.80 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $16.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.71. Upwork has a 1-year low of $9.93 and a 1-year high of $20.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 9.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 3.36.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.09. Upwork had a return on equity of 44.83% and a net margin of 31.75%.The firm had revenue of $194.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. Upwork’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Upwork will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upwork announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 10,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.96, for a total value of $199,879.44. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 345 shares in the company, valued at $6,886.20. This represents a 96.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $400,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,082,358 shares in the company, valued at $21,647,160. This represents a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 222,576 shares of company stock worth $3,670,318 over the last three months. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork in the second quarter valued at $30,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in Upwork by 415.9% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in Upwork during the second quarter worth about $45,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Upwork by 19,361.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 3,485 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Upwork by 3,492.8% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 3,877 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.