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

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) 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 price target points to a potential upside of 55.04% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on UPWK. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Upwork from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Upwork has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.58.

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Upwork Trading Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ UPWK traded up $0.27 during trading on Monday, hitting $12.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,513,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,243,919. The company has a quick ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $14.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.61. Upwork has a twelve month low of $8.43 and a twelve month high of $18.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Upwork will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 13,765 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total transaction of $222,304.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 156,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,532,772.20. This trade represents a 8.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 21,122 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total transaction of $341,120.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,275,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,592,590.45. This represents a 1.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 193,365 shares of company stock valued at $3,050,760 in the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Upwork by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 182,660 shares of the company's stock worth $2,384,000 after buying an additional 4,458 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 1,235.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 3,767 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Upwork during the fourth quarter worth about $2,013,000. Cache Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,324,000. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Upwork in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $345,000. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.