Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Needham & Company LLC Analyst Says

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 59.95% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on UPWK. Wall Street Zen upgraded Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 28th. UBS Group set a $21.00 target price on Upwork and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank set a $17.00 price target on Upwork and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Upwork presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.25.

Upwork Stock Down 1.9%

Upwork stock opened at $15.63 on Tuesday. 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 has a 1-year low of $11.13 and a 1-year high of $20.54. The company has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 8.98 and a beta of 1.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $17.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.16.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04). Upwork had a net margin of 31.75% and a return on equity of 44.83%. The business had revenue of ($387.62) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Upwork has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.350-1.370 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.310-0.330 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Upwork will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upwork announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 8,730 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total transaction of $167,266.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 218,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,188,471.80. This trade represents a 3.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $400,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,082,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,647,160. This represents a 1.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 222,576 shares of company stock worth $3,670,318. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Upwork in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in Upwork by 415.9% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in Upwork in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Upwork by 19,361.1% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Upwork by 3,492.8% in the 1st 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 last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.