Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Shares Gap Up to $11.96

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $11.96, but opened at $12.97. Upwork shares last traded at $12.60, with a volume of 835,536 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Upwork from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $13.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upwork currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.55.

Upwork Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.83 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 3.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.18.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.01. Upwork had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 13.96%. The firm had revenue of $183.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.43 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 43,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.86, for a total value of $562,162.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,165,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,994,502.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 67,531 shares of company stock valued at $851,894. Insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Csenge Advisory Group acquired a new stake in Upwork during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,344,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in Upwork by 56.2% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Upwork during the first quarter valued at approximately $152,000. Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Upwork during the first quarter valued at approximately $355,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Upwork by 9.7% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 83,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,020,000 after buying an additional 7,332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.